Hi Flapp
[snip]
Reading through your very thorough, well thought out reply, i find one thing that jumps out at me.
It's common for anyone on either side if the discussion to focus more on one type of event versus the entire spectrum. Maybe they have experienced or see more reports of domestic violence in their circle of friends, coworkers, neighbors or houses than they do burglaries, home invasions, muggings, road rage attacks, hold-ups where you work, mentally ill becoming violent, and so on.
When I see the "twice as likely to die if you own a gun" stat, that's not being gathered in a vacuum where only domestic violence exists.
i accept that having a gun in the house increases the odds of it being used on a resident or someone else using theirs that they brought because you armed yourself, too.
Ask yourself how much interaction you have with people outside the home. With people visiting your home.
Then compare that to the number of hours you spend with your family and cohabitants at home. The more time you spend with people, the more likely you are to be caught in the wake of a mental breakdown, drug episode, or other incident that results in violence. like you said "places, times" have to be factored in.
What if the stats said you are more likely to be killed by any means by a relative under your one roof than any of your neighbors. Would you move out and live alone? Move in with a neighbor?
I distrust statistics that try to model causes of human behavior, because they never seem to do more than validate the agenda of the analysts.
One of the reasons alcohol was banned under prohibition was the argument that so many deaths were attributable to being drunk -- accidents, car wrecks, fights, robberies. all things most of us would not choose to do sober, but alcohol affects judgement. It's a common excuse; I never would have done it if I hadn't been so drunk.
You can choose to eliminate drugs and alcohol from your home and significantly reduce the risk of someone becoming violent. It follows that you can also keep a gun around in case someone not living with you gets intoxicated and decides to inflict harm on you and your family members.
I think you're on the right path. Don't let the stats make your decision. Decide whether you believe defending yourself and your family is as likely as someone using that firearm to harm themselves or others. If you can accept the results of your decision if you're wrong, then nobody should try to change your mind. Make your choice -- take your chances -- hope for the best.
I also want to point out one glaring fact: one decision is active, the other passive. Getting a gun, taking training, securing it, giving others access for emergencies, .... these are all active decisions. Those can be identified later as things you did that lead to a bad result should that occur.
On the other hand, choosing to avoid buying a firearm and all the things associated with it i mentioned above represent a passive solution -- i.e. doing nothing. But don't let that lull you into a false sense of blamelessness. You made a conscious decision to remain unprepared should you need a firearm. it's your decision to own.
Finally, there are the benefits we've not looked at, such as ensuring your family members have the familiarity with guns to be safe around them. How do you teach firearm safety without allowing spouses and children to handle and practice with one? You could rent one, but most people won't spend the time or money without seeing a need.
You can't pick and choose who your kids hang out with, nor who their friends hang out with. It's foreseeable that your kids will come across a firearm one day. Maybe just someone showing off their dad's pistol, or taking it camping to shoot at some trees. Those are not the situations i'd want my girls to be in learning about firearms their first time. Education is valuable. Firearms safety saves lives. You can't sanitize their world, but you can prepare them for the things that might require at least some safety training and familiarization.
Maybe an airsoft or pellet gun can suffice for training if the manual of arms and components are very similar to a real firearm. Just something else to think about.