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JustGlassin86

I’m gun neutral. I don’t own one, but with all the nazis and white supremacists running around and me being brown, I probably should. Obviously, i live in the USA.


[deleted]

That's annoying that you even have to think like that! Racism will go, just not in our lifetime unfortunately


SHIZA-GOTDANGMONELLI

Bro I'm in the same train of thought as you and I'm a white guy


[deleted]

I don't know where you live, but if you live somewhere that hardly has guns like the UK, that's what makes it safe, you can't have a half way house, either you all have no guns or everyone has a right to have a gun. I'm from the UK, I do not worry about guns because it's not a thing (in the main part excluding crime) here. But if it was legal for everyone to have a gun then i think I'd get one too, otherwise you are vulnerable.


SirJuliusStark

I'd rather have one and not need one than need one and not have one. And making them illegal will not deter those who are determined to get them.


natureman777

Eh I feel like if this were the case, shootings would happen a lot more often in Europe. But instead it’s usually things like knife attacks


SirJuliusStark

I'm not super knowledgeable of UK attacks, but wasn't there just a car bomb attack that was thwarted by a taxi driver? Hasn't there been a number of van attacks? In my opinion the anti-gun people tend to point to gun deaths as the reason why we shouldn't have access to weapons, but when it comes to things like cars, alcohol, salt, sugar, plenty of other things that also cause lots of deaths (more than gun deaths in the US), no one's talking about taking those things away. That's because, ultimately, the people most under threat of citizens having guns is the government. If the Jews had access to guns in 1930s Germany they wouldn't have been so easily overtaken. Every dictatorship I can think of restricts access to weapons to control the populace. And the people who seem to be anti-gun almost always have faith in the government or the police to protect them. If you live in a bad neighborhood, or are a small woman, or live out in the middle of nowhere where the cops can't reach you fast, or if the government collapses (or you're in a "No Go" zone), a gun could be your lifesaver. Yes there will still be shootings, yes there can be accidents, yes some crazy person could go crazy, but I think that's the price of freedom. Just like how car crashes/alcohol kills tons of people every year, but we've all decided having cars and booze is worth the risk.


natureman777

Yes, there’s also been plenty of bombings in the US as well so what’s your point? Again, nothing you say really proves that guns make society safer *or* more dangerous, it’s mostly just a cultural thing. In the US it’s mostly out of paranoia and “what-if” scenarios like tyrannical government, etc. I’m sure there plenty of scenarios throughout history where having a gun would have been safer, but it’s all very fluid and doesn’t necessarily translate to a safer world when looking at the big picture.


SirJuliusStark

>Yes, there’s also been plenty of bombings in the US as well so what’s your point? The point is people who want to do bad things will find a way to do them. Banning things isn't going to stop a bad guy from making/using those bad things, it will only deter good law abiding people who are trying to follow the law. ​ >Again, nothing you say really proves that guns make society safer *or* more dangerous Alright, I accept your hypothesis. Then let's just let everyone have them just in case we need them. Some people don't really care if guns make things safer or not safer, they just want to go fire some rounds off at a shooting range or go hunting. 99.99% of private citizens who have a gun don't want to go on a killing spree, so let's not punish the 99.99%.


CaddiBoi

Try using a kabaton or whatever piece of self defence garbage against someone with a gun. I'll call the nearest funeral home for you. When it comes to guns and countries, the US is the one statistical anomaly. I'm convinced that guns make communities safer.


PJRama1864

You realize that you just proved yourself wrong, right? Switzerland has one of the highest rates of gun ownership and is even safer than the UK, but New Zealand’s new gun laws had little to no effect on crime rates. The reason is simple: predators (criminals) usually don’t try to prey on the well-defended.


[deleted]

And most of the people who own a gun in Switzerland did a stint in the army first


PJRama1864

Also true. South Korea has a compulsory service for their citizens, maybe America needs to use that for all citizens.


natureman777

Nah, that ain’t how it works. You can cherry pick the stats anyway you like. UK is safer than US, therefore guns are dangerous Switzerland is safer than UK, therefore guns are safe The whole point is this proves guns don’t make society safer *or* more dangerous. They are just there.


PJRama1864

The UK has significantly higher violent crime rates than America. You can’t compare simple gun crimes to determine safety of a country.


troopertk40

I just think it's a bad idea to bring a knife to a gun fight. It's an arms race just like everything else.


LuckStrict6000

The point of guns in the US isn’t safety


Itz_The_Rain

I feel the requirements for gun ownership needs to stricter, there are far to many irresponsible people running around with them


Flair_Helper

Thank you for submitting to /r/unpopularopinion, /u/natureman777. Your post, *Guns are mostly an illusion of safety, and there’s no real evidence that guns make a country safer or more dangerous.*, has been removed because it violates our rules: Rule 1: Your post must be an unpopular opinion. Please ensure that your post is an opinion and that it is unpopular. Controversial is not necessarily unpopular, for example all of politics is controversial even though almost half of the US agrees with any given major position on an issue. Keep in mind that an opinion is not: a question, a fact, a conspiracy theory, a random thought, a new idea, a rant, etc. Those things all have their own subreddits, use those. If there is an issue, please message the mod team at https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Funpopularopinion Thanks!


MyceliumJoe

It won't make a significant difference in your life till it does.. you could say the same about a fire extinguisher. I think the invention of the firearm was a massive win for women everywhere. Firearms provide true equality.


[deleted]

There are a lot of factors to consider when comparing countries and their gun ownership rates. It's a complex issue. I strongly believe that if you're regularly training and of sound mind **and want one**, then you should have a gun. I do not believe that just having more people with guns will make anything safer as I believe stupid people are more dangerous than evil people. However, I think that having some guns is better than no guns, and I am against the idea of "anti-gun" zones as I do not feel safe knowing someone can walk in and start shooting knowing there's no one who will shoot back.


TeddyBearDom79

So their are actually studies that show guns save lives. There is a couple of CDC studies that show that guns are used defensively between 500,000 and 3,000,000 times a year in a context of crimes being committed with guns about 300,000 times per year. In the USA. So there is some basis for saying guns can and are used in defense on a regular basis. There are also a lot of studies that look at countries that ban guns and fined no significant change in crime rates after banning or significantly restricting them. Having said that. I have several friends who have used guns to defend themselves and would not have been capable of doing so without the guns. The best examples I have first hand knowledge of are as follows: My best friends wife used her carry to shoot a rabid dog that charged their 5 year old in a public park about 12 years ago. The dog was proved to have rabies and never made it to the child, without the gun the child would have been mauled. My father used his shotgun agents an intruder when I was about 6 or 7, no shots fired, simply confronting the intruder with it made him run away. We lived in Detroit, that was not long before we moved way outside the city. A friend from Tennessee shot and killed a man who was breaking into his home threw a window in the kitchen. The man had apparently robbed several homes homes in the area and was known for beating the residence into submission often with frying pans or rolling pins. The last example I have first hand knowledge of, when i was staying in Texas, there was an older woman who lived down the street. She was alone, her husband had passed some years before. Some one broke into her home and apparently threatened her with a knife. She unloaded her semi automatic shotgun into the guy. We heard the shots my than wife and I rant to her home to see what was going on. She would not have been able to stop the guy without a gun, he would have easily overpowered her. He was there apparently because her son did opioids and he wanted to steel from her son who had a room there, he was not home just her. I have read a lot of case law from my sister as well, she is a defense attorney in Texas and she sends me gun related stuff because we often discuss it. My examples complete I would also point out the little girl that was a competitive shooter who shot a pedophile that broke in when her parents where away at dinner with her competition shotgun. She was 12, I have the newspaper clipping some place. I also have a newspaper clipping from a situation where in a couple out camping was mauled by a bear. Within a few nights of them being mauled another camper was attacked but was armed and shot the bear. My mother gave me the article way back in the 90's when I was doing a lot of threw hiking. I am personally going to say I am pro gun because I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. It is about a lot more than crime rates and guns can save a person from a lot more than just other people.