I've never owned a gun nor have I lived in a country that allows just anyone to buy one. Why am I not dead yet?

Question

Whenever I ask about gun control in the US, Americans freak out and say things like "If you don't have a gun, how will you protect yourself?" or "What will you do when you need one?".

What I want to know is why I am not dead yet. I have travelled the world, (not the US though). I have been to Thailand, China (8 years), Poland, Baharain, Japan, Germany, Korea etc... and I have never been shot at once! Nor have I ever felt like anyone was going to shoot at me.

Yet, all the answers from America suggest that I must be dead by now if I do not own a gun. Hmmm.

So why am I not dead? Luck? Americans are paranoid? Maybe it's crazy dangerous in the US?

Answer 1

It's paranoia....and it's not all Americans.



But, yes, the stats do not lie. Americans have more gun related deaths in a week than all of Europe does in a decade.



The roots of this issue are deep, and convoluted. It goes back to the very beginning, in many ways....the Puritans and the paranoia throughout American history.

Answer 2

You have been lucky so far.



In societies where guns are banned, people kill each other using anything they can find: machetes, crowbars, pens, heavy objects, even a piece of broken glass will do.



One of these days you won't be fast enough to hit first, and someone will ram a broken bottle up your mouth all the way to your brain. That day you'll realize, in the very last seconds of your life, how useful guns are.

Answer 3

People often misunderstand the reasoning behind the 2nd Amendment to The U.S. Constitution. The authors of the Constitution more specifically the Bill of Rights believed that our rights were inalienable, and were not bestowed upon us by any agency of government. They included the right to keep and bear arms in the Bill of Rights, because they believed that the people should be able to stand up to an unjust or corrupted government. Our right to bear arms is protected in the Constitution as a means of protecting our other rights form the abuses of government.

Answer 4

.308 springfield and the 30 06 had been the rifles of Choice for the US navy for years so get a .308 or 30 06, well, safe handy to wash... I have three .308 and swear through them- two bolt a million lever... Go with the bolt... Great looking rifles... When I paintings I use an M4 (within the Army)... Mini 14 may be amusing however extra difficult for a newbie

Answer 5

Are you saying no one in those countries was ever killed by a criminal that would not have had he been armed? The facts remain, in American Cities with the strictest gun control laws, the murder rate is much higher than in other cities.



All I can say is if someone is being shot at, I will not be the only one.



*

Answer 6

I live in America I own a small arsenal why am I not dead yet. Works both ways but it comes down to this better to have a gun and never need it then to not have a gun and need it someday

Answer 7

No other place is as diverse as the USA. The clash of cultures creates more friction and that sometimes leads to violence. It has nothing to do with guns.

Answer 8

That's very nice that you haven't needed one. But I know two people who are happy that they had one when encountering an intruder in their homes. It's a right that should be protected. You are aware that gangs operate outside the law and have access to semi-automatics and other frightening firearms.

Answer 9

The Second Amendment isn't to protect ourselves from criminals

It is to scare the politicians into not oppressing us



"The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it away."

-Thomas Jefferson





And people's lack of knowledge of the Second Amendment absolutely BLOWS MY MIND. Learn some history people, most oppressed people are deprived of arms as well!

Answer 10

Think what you want, I'm keeping my guns! Got a cute little .380 Rugar LCR a couple weeks ago and waiting for the laser grips . It's locked and loaded in the night stand !



I was involved in a work place shooting 8 years ago, which I had my gun with me that day ! He killed 2 people in our office !

Answer 11

You are not dead because of luck of the draw. You haven't encountered anyone trying to kill you.



Think of how many people DO get dead every year because they get a flat tire in the wrong place (like Bill Cosby's son) or are unlucky enough to be targeted.



The common characteristic of everyone who does get killed by criminal thugs is that they were insufficiently prepared to defend their lives.

Answer 12

Maybe your a strong man? If you were a skinny little girl maybe you wouldn't be so safe on the streets unarmed?

Answer 13

We have a right to bare arms... It was given to us by our founding fathers. Sorry your country was probably run by some crazy communist making people stand in line and wait to get rations of bread and butter. Our founders had our citizens in mind when they came up with that right to bare arms.. So now our citizens aren't as weak as your pathetic excuse for a country is and we can defend ourselves against tyrants

Answer 14

i bet when you travel you stayed in those nice 4-5 starts hotels and have a tour guide lol ,in south america where i was born we used to laugh at people like you that think know it all, because you visited the nice parts of the countries. have fun in fantasy land..

Answer 15

There's nothing like protecting yourself, family and property. This is the real world in which we live.

Answer 16

The only protection my dad has is a Baseball Bat under his bed, and we have never faced any problems.

Answer 17

And maybe you didn't hang around in the ghetto.



You'd better sell your cloak and buy a sword before it's too late.

Answer 18

its one of the great things about being an american..the right to bear arms...it was put in our constitution to protect ourselves from the government if they ever got to powerful.

Answer 19

You're talking to the wrong people.

Most Americans don't have guns and don't want them.

I have lived alone in dangerous neighborhoods.

I have worked alone at night in dangerous neighborhoods.

I have never had a gun.

I have never needed one.

I won't ever get one.

Answer 20

it all depends on where you live, some places you need a gun more than others, i think we are mostly paraniod, but i have heard gun shots before, id say your fine, and plus thats the american way, a gun in every home, and a cap in every a.s.s

Answer 21

just move in the country where each week there is a mass murder(aka US)

Answer 22

I'm not dead either and I have a whole case filled with guns..

Answer 23

Strawman. Nobody believes that everyone without a gun will die.

Answer 24

I wonder about the myth of the "Wild West".

Answer 25

You will feel differently if you ever become a victim of a crime.

Answer 26

I live in the US and have never been shot, what is your point?

Answer 27

You're not gonna die. you might be a.....NAZI.

Answer 28

Me either. I think they're all feckin paranoid.

"Paranoia will destroy ya!"