Do you carry at home - Why do people feel safe at home?

[FireMax]

I carry at home most of the time. It seems like a responsible thing to do. The way I look at it, if my carry gun is on my person, it is safer on my waist than anywhere else in my home. So, yes, I carry at home too most of the time.

If you think about it.... it takes only seconds for a perp to bust in a door and to confront you in your own home. My dad was killed in 1967 during a robbery in our home. He heard something in the kitchen, thought it was my older brother and got up to check. It was a burglar with a hand gun... brief struggle, one gun shot and my dad was gone. My dad did not have his weapon when he was shot.

[pax]

TSR,

Was going to leave this unanswered, since your post pretty much responded as predicted, and since JohnKSa did such a good job responding to it. But I think there's something to discuss here.

And finally, I either carried or wore a gun for a living for too many years. No way I'm going to be a prisoner in my own home and keep a gun strapped to me 24/7.

I refuse to live in a state of self-induced paranoia.

You know what I think would cause self-induced paranoia?

Not just getting dressed in the morning and putting your normal stuff in and around your pockets. That's not paranoia, that's just routine.

What I think would cause paranoia would be getting up in the morning and the first thing you think of before you can even get dressed, is, "Am I going to go anywhere 'dangerous' today? Should I wear my gun today or not?" By the time you've parsed that, analyzed it from all possible angles, contemplating the criminal statistics for every place you are likely to be and dwelling on the news that was on the TV last night to make your decisions, that's gonna cause serious twisted thinking. Starting your day, every day, wondering if your life will be "dangerous enough" today to justify carrying, and thinking about whether or not you are going to have to kill someone today. *shudder* No thanks!

No wonder some folks consider putting the gun on to be making themselves a "prisoner" and "paranoid." I would, too, if carrying weren't simply routine and my default setting.

To each his own!

pax

PS What I really don't understand is how it is "paranoid" to simply get dressed in the morning, but not paranoid to hide guns under the sofa cushions so that you cannot even slightly relax if friends drop by unexpectedly or if relatives have nosy children. Talk about being a "prisoner" in your own home!

[grymster2007]

This is going to sound very fruity...
...and even a little weird.

very fruity????... a little weird????

Other people might work real hard to make up a story like that. With you Playboy, the truth is stranger than fiction!

[TexasSeaRay]

Pax, JohnKSa,

I guess it's a matter of perception. Pax asks "am I going somewhere dangerous today?'

For some of us, that was a big "yes" every day. That was our job.

And when you see, experience and actually deal with real danger, you learn pretty quick what the difference is between real danger and perceived danger.

Something else that has been missing from this and so many discussions like it--and that is, a gun does not make you one bit safer.

Instead, a gun simply allows you to improve your odds of surviving a hostile encounter.

Again, I carried a gun for a living for too long. It never made me feel safer. Hell, the reason we carried guns was because we WENT to where the bad people/enemy was--we didn't wait for them to come to us.

Yet, back on the ship or back at the base or back at our quarters, we didn't carry guns with us. I only knew a handful of undercover agents that carried at home--and those were either the new guys or agents who'd just received the usual threats regarding them and/or their family. That is what I'd classify as real danger.

But Joe the accountant feeling a need to strap and pack around the house? Whatever. Free country and it's definitely your right. But if you think carrying a gun makes you safe, you could not be more wrong.

It makes you prepared and helps improve your odds.

THAT is part of the mindset of preparedness, along with understanding and accepting the difference between real danger and perceived danger and responding accordingly to each.

Jeff

[pax]

TexasSeaRay,

First you accused me and people like me of being "paranoid." Now you've twice repeated that you think people like me believe that carrying a gun makes us safe. And you've insinuated that I do not understand the difference between "real danger" versus "perceived danger."

Jeff, I'm not sure if you realize just how offensive you're being. I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt here, but it's difficult.

Yes, it is very true that some folks who carry firearms as private individuals do not have the right mindset for doing so. Some carry it as a magic talisman that will ward off evil just by existing, with the weird idea that as long as they are armed, nothing bad can ever happen to them. Some carry it without understanding the legal and ethical underpinnings of self-defense, and some -- sadly! -- carry simply because they really are angry at criminals and eager to exact their brand of justice.

But most of us aren't like that. Most people who carry guns habitually do so simply because we want to be prepared to cope with a criminal crisis -- both equipped (with the tools) and prepared (with the mindset) to save our own lives or at least stop the action until the professionals arrive to clean up the mess.

By continually repeating that people who arm themselves routinely & habitually are "paranoid," you've simply bought into the lie that ordinary people will never need the tools of effectual self-defense.

It's true that most ordinary people never will need to fire a gun or even display one. It's also true that those who do need a firearm or other effective defensive tool will need it very badly and very immediately.

Yes, my risk level is very low. I live in a rural area, don't have any criminal friends, don't engage in high-risk activities. My house is average for the area, neither an expensive invitation to thieves nor a slummy invitation to drug-seekers. So?

The fact that I live in a rural area means that my odds of a criminal encounter are relatively low. But my odds of a wildlife encounter are higher (saw a bear last week, 'bout a mile from the house, galumphing along the road at sunset). And if a criminal does attack, he's going to do so in the expectation that 1) the neighbors won't hear a thing, and 2) the cops' quickest possible response is a minimum of 20 minutes away -- on a good day.

So is my personal risk high enough to justify being armed? If I were carrying, as you insinuate, to "feel safe," nope. I feel plenty safe out here.

If I were carrying to lower my risk of attack, again nope. My risk of attack is low.

But if I were carrying simply to be prepared if trouble struck, well, yes. Yes it is. I don't think my risk of being attacked is particularly high, but my risk of being unable to deal with it without the tools to do so is pretty darn astronomical.

Suit yourself (you will anyway -- most folks do!). But please stop insulting everyone who has a different assessment than you do of the costs vs benefits of going armed at home.

pax

[rantingredneck]

I'm no criminal nor do I associate with criminals. I do not associate with those who are part of the drug culture. I've never been military or LE.

In my lifetime of 34 years, I've had a gun drawn on me once. I've drawn once and nearly drawn a second time. No shots fired in either case thankfully. I've been stabbed (upper arm, non-lifethreatening but sucked anyway). I've been the "almost" victim of 2 attempted strong arm robberies/carjackings (didn't work out so well for the "almost" perpetrators in either case). I've been bitten by a 160lb great dane.

Neither of the above incidents is something I hope to ever repeat.

My point. Trouble can find even those not looking for it. Will my carrying a gun ward off trouble? No. But it will give me one more tool in the toolkit to deal with it. Am I paranoid for choosing to keep my carry weapon on after I get home at night? No. Am I paranoid for having a 12 ga outside the safe where I can access it quickly when I'm at home? No.

Experience has taught me that you can't plan when you will be attacked.

[DonR101395]

We know exactly what we'd do if someone kicked in our door, or accosted us in the garage as we pulled in, etc.

I usually agree with you, but following the logic train you started with the rest of your post; you guys are going to freeze

[clem]

No, but I have loaded firearms in every room, with easy access.

[Stevie-Ray]

P32 on me as always right now. During times of high anxiety, like a helicopter with searchlight circling above, it will be much less relaxed and much heavier firepower, especially now that the weather is getting warmer, entry is easier, etc. Simply put, my comfort factor does not negate carrying at least A BUG around the house. I can't improve on what Pax has said. And somebody else has stated that you can't say when you're going to be a victim. It's that way around here. Low crime, but when it happens, everybody's shocked. Shame on me if it happens in my household and the presence of a gun could have prevented it.

[Playboypenguin]

With you Playboy, the truth is stranger than fiction!

What can I say...I do not like to lay my guns on hard surfaces and the pillow was just in a box in the garage going to waste.

[VA9mm]

At home there is an 870 within arms reach always. There are also 2 pittbulls on my security detail.

I try to keep my Tops 7" Bowie near me at all times as well but Im not as good about that.

[jamaica]

Your post asks two questions: "Do you carry at home - Why do people feel safe at home? "

To the first: Yes.

To the second: I feel safe because nothing has ever happened in 67 years to make me wish I had a gun in hand. Absolutely zero threats.

[ElectricHellfire]

No I do not. I have little kids and wrestling in the floor with my Glock on is just not safe nor feasable for me. Its kinda like asking if I carry while I swim.
My home is in a fairly safe neighborhood and I keep my shizz locked up at all times. I can access my guns in a matter of seconds if need be. Now if the doorbell rings after dark I'll be armed. I do carry my spyderco on me when Im around the house sometimes but thats it.

[ElectricHellfire]

It rests (now this is the fruity part) on a very nice 8"x10" royal blue satin pillow which (now this is the weird part) is actually the resting pillow from a guinea pig coffin...from back when I used to build the occasional cremation box and pet coffin

LOL thats awesome.

Is it fruity if mine resides in a purple and gold Crown Royale bag?

[grymster2007]

Is it fruity if mine resides in a purple and gold Crown Royale bag?

Yeah... that's a little fruity, but in a manlier fashion! And at least you didn't rip your gun pillow out from under some poor, dead guinea pig!

I pretty much do all the stuff pax says not to, but for this post, I strapped on the GLOCK.

[FLA2760]

yes and in respose to the following ANTI GUN propaganda.

"I know a number of acquaintances who "pack heat" around the house. I'll also bet my airplane, boat and other toys that if someone kicked in their door, the heat-packers would freeze up and not be able to draw and fire. They'd end up getting way hurt or just plain dead". :barf::barf::barf::barf:

[Donovan655]

I carry pretty much 100% of the time at home. It isn't because I'm paranoid, unprepared mentally, or whatever the hell other voodoo is in this thread.
It is because i've been underprepared in a violent confrontation before and swore to myself and my family i'd never let it happen again.

[JohnKSa]

It never made me feel safer.

If someone asked me how carrying a gun makes me feel I would respond that it makes me feel prepared. Just the same as having the other items I carry on my person (or in my vehicle) makes me feel.

NOT having some of those items could negatively impact my safety, I suppose, but to date, that's not really been the case. Even the one time I actually needed a firearm, it was not related to my safety or anyone else's.

[Wildalaska]

If the pillow smells like a rodent, so will your gun

WildicanteventrytospellguineapigAlaska TM

[Bogie]

Gives new meaning to "mouse" gun?

I'm within 3' of a 9mm right now. I'm no more than 3-4 steps from a boomstick anywhere in my house, except for the guest room... I'm not paranoid - I just have storage and organization problems...

"Ah... This is a good spot... Let's leave it here..."

It think it may stem from when I moved a 3 bedroom house, with dining room, into a 900 square foot apartment... My bookshelves had books in them - and behind the books was the ammo, etc., etc...

Just got used to it.

[Playboypenguin]

at least you didn't rip your gun pillow out from under some poor, dead guinea pig!

If the pillow smells like a rodent, so will your gun

Gives new meaning to "mouse" gun?

Geez, I didn't say it was a "used" one. It was a left over from a coffin I built that never sold.

[rdrancher]

I carry at home because being prepared is a 24/7 kind of deal. There is no "time off". I've been doing it the same way for years.

rd

[Wildalaska]

OK so Im sitting here on the couch in my stained BVDs, one sock on and one sock off with no shirt, belly acting as a computer stand. Should I have a holster on?

WildperhapsawondermanbrawithapouchfortheseecampicantfindandspeakingofseecampAlaska TM

[STAGE 2]

Its a free country so folks can do as they like. Thats said, I've always thought that people who felt the need to carry a gun at home would be better served by swapping zip codes. If you're living in an area that you don't feel safe behind locked doors, then you have a problem that isn't going to be solved by just carrying.

As for being safe (as opposed to feeling safe) in your own home, check out these stats from the US Dept of Justice:
Of the 207,240 rapes and sexual assaults in America in 2004, 30% happened inside the woman's own home.

Of the 83,920 rapes and sexual assaults committed by a stranger, 42% happened inside the woman's own home.

Of the 99,130 incidents of completed robbery in which the victim was injured, 31% happened inside the victim's own home.

Of the 895,340 cases of aggravated assault, 18% happened within the victim's own home.

But as the first stat bears out, most crimes commited in the home are done by someone the victim either knows or is related to. If you look at your rape figure, more than half of all the rapes were comitted by someone the victim knew. Of the remaining number, less than half were committed in the victims home. I have no doubt that most of the cases of assault fall into this category as well.

As such, these stats aren't quite as imposing as has been suggested... unless you plan on shooting your friend/brother/father/husband.

[Playboypenguin]

OK so Im sitting here on the couch in my stained BVDs, one sock on and one sock off with no shirt, belly acting as a computer stand. Should I have a holster on?

First...Ugh...thanks ever so much for that mental image. :barf:

Second, of course you should. Doesn't Seecamp make a g-string holster?