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Title: EDITORIAL: Notre Dame philosophy professor: ‘Most of us don’t have a good reason to keep guns in our homes’
Source:
Guns.com
URL Source: http://www.guns.com/2013/12/13/edit ... p-guns-homes&utm_reader=feedly
Published: Dec 13, 2013
Author: S.H. Blannelberry
Post Date: 2013-12-15 13:27:46 by X-15
Keywords: None
Views: 437
Comments: 22
“Should I own a gun?” That is the question that Gary Gutting, a professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, asks in a recent New York Times opinion piece. His conclusion to that question is, as one might expect from an academic at an elite university, pretty predictable. He writes, “Once we balance the potential harms and goods, most of us — including many current gun owners — don’t have a good reason to keep guns in their homes.” He arrives at this conclusion after suggesting that “guns are dangerous” and that the net effect of owning one has the potential to create more harm than good, even if one has a firearm for the sole purpose of self-defense within the home. “I may panic and shoot a family member coming home late, fumble around and allow an unarmed burglar to take my gun, have a cleaning or loading accident,” Gutting imagines. He also dismisses the idea that firearms are needed to protect against a tyrannical government, noting that resistance against our military would be futile. “Those who think there are current (or likely future) government actions in this country that would require armed resistance are living a paranoid fantasy,” he said. “The idea that armed American citizens could stand up to our military is beyond fantasy.” Furthermore, he argues that hunting is now largely recreational, no longer the primary means by which a family sources food. As such, firearms don’t need to be kept at home, but can be secured elsewhere. “Hunters and their families would be much safer if the guns and ammunition were securely stored away from their homes and available only to those with licenses during the appropriate season,” he states. “Target shooting, likewise, does not require keeping guns at home.” Ultimately Gutting hinges one’s Second Amendment right not on the premise of personal choice of a citizen living in a free society, but on need. Do you actually need a firearm? He writes, “It’s easier to get people to see that they don’t want something than that they don’t have a right to it. Focusing on the need rather than the right to own a gun, many may well conclude that for them a gun is more a danger than a protection. Those fewer guns will make for a safer country.” It’s a very seductive rhetorical approach to the debate. And quite truthfully, it’s effective. When one thinks about it, and theoretically speaking, no one really needs a gun. On a day to day basis in most parts of the country, one can function just fine without a firearm. However, just because I don’t need a firearm, doesn’t mean I don’t want one. I want a firearm because I don’t want to be a victim. I don’t want to get mugged, raped or murdered. It’s that simple. I can live day-to-day without a gun, but should I ever find myself in a life-threatening situation, I want a firearm handy so that I stand a chance at defending myself, my family and my property. Sure, I can carry other arms (such as knives) for self-defense, but I want the most effective tool available, which happens to be a firearm. It should also be said that one can play the ‘need’ game with any right or privilege. I don’t really need a car, do I? After all, it releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which causes global warming (allegedly), which is a threat to humanity, I can find other modes of transportation that would reduce my carbon footprint, public and private sources (metros). I can also carpool with someone else, purchase a bike or walk to where I need to go. Likewise, people really don’t need free speech. Do we? The government can pretty much can tell us all we need to know, can’t it? People in North Korea live under a regime that imposes censorship and they’re surviving, aren’t they (a perfect example of what happens when a government determines the needs of the people vs. the people determining the needs of the government)? Anyways, you see where I’m going with that line of reasoning. Aside from food, shelter, clothing, there’s not much a human being really ‘needs’ to live on planet earth. I should also note that statistically speaking, guns are used more by law-abiding citizens in self-defense situations than they are used by criminals or mentally-deranged sociopaths. So, the notion that owning a firearm is a net danger or threat to the average, responsible individual is untenable. As a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released back in June found, “Defensive uses of guns by crime victims is a common occurrence, although the exact number remains disputed. “Almost all national survey estimates indicate that defensive gun uses by victims are at least as common as offensive uses by criminals, with estimates of annual uses ranging from about 500,000 to more than 3 million per year, in the context of about 300,000 violent crimes involving firearms in 2008,” it stated. So, there you go. Do you need a gun? No. Should you have one? Yeah, I think so. But then again, it’s up to you to deicide, something I suppose both Gutting and I agree on.
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#1. To: X-15 (#0)
Wayne LaPierre said, "The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun." I'm with Wayne on this one. ;)
"When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke
He calls himself a philosopher? He thinks an inanimate object is dangerous? "Have Brain, Will Travel
rhetorical approach to the debate. And quite truthfully, Vigilance doesn't mean constantly indulging people who want to obliterate our rights with debates. It should be enough to simply remind them that our rights unalienable. ------- "They're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time." -- Col. Puller, USMC
To quote someone whose name escapes me, "It's not a question of need, it's a question of rights." After Clinton dressed up in pricey and fashionable marsh camo and pretended to hunt waterfowl in a primo Chesapeake Bay duck blind, he then appeared at an outside podium while still in costume and preached that we don't "need" certain guns. (Those ugly, black, self loaders that accept detachable mags that the majority of Dems and Pubs alike fear and certainly not the machine guns with which he was surrounded.) The ducks were probably reluctant to decoy with a helicopter idling nearby or when men in trench coats and black tactical gear were talking on walkie talkies from their poorly camouflaged shore and boat locations. I wonder how many passes were made by Navy F-14s? If it was Obama all other hunters who lucked out and drew a state blind in the lottery would have undoubtedly been disarmed until the president was gone. And, because the US Naval Academy is also on the bay a short 50 miles North by boat all midshipmen would have been restricted to their dorms with all power boats and swords secured in secret service trailers. One Jewish newspaper in NYC told their readers not to worry because Clinton didn't actually shoot any birds. Wink. They didn't spell out that it was political theater for their readers. They didn't have to. (If a psycho that hunts gays failed to find a suitable target one evening, would the paper say, "Don't worry, he didn't actually shoot anyone."? Well, what about the next time he or Clinton go on the hunt? There was no need to worry because they just knew that unlike an ordinary, garden variety murdering psycho that kills gays or ducks Clinton would probably never go hunting anything but young, unsuspecting quail ever again.) I called a local radio talk show and asked this: Suppose Bob Dole donned a pink leotard and cruised the bathhouses in San Fran, then at the end of the block told the reporters and cameras that he's experienced the gay lifestyle and we should close the bathhouses, quarantine AIDS victims and outlaw homosexuality. Would gays say, "Let's listen to the man, he's one of us!"? Why, no, someone would quite understandably question his sincerity and point out that he didn't actually engage in any gay sex. And there would be shrill, hand wringing quotes from everyone from Dershowitz to Elton John about inalienable rights! And, geez, in a world famous waterfowler's paradise Clinton didn't shoot any ducks, either. And he believes but wouldn't say that the 2nd amendment only guarantees the national guard's right to hunt ducks, or something like that. But who in BIG MEDIA challenged his sincerity that day? Nowhere in The US Constitution is the word "right" used in connection with the federal govt. Govt has powers and only people have rights. Powers are delegated and subject to revocation but rights are supposedly inherent and from our creator. (States rights refers to the people in the legal fiction entity divided up with invisible lines. Obviously the soil has no rights that can be actively asserted. (We the dirt clods demand our right to be farmed by slave labor?) If a state's soil or other resources need defending only a human (or a lawyer-a soul is not required) can do that. QED, whose rights are they?) Of course rights can be forfeited through disuse and neglect. That concludes today's forgotten history lesson. One relevant NRA factoid: Despite the fact that gun ownership has been rising for years gun "accidents" have been going down. Accidents are almost always gun negligence, unless a firearm with a crystalized sear (due to an undetected production fault) actually sheared off and caused a discharge with undesirable consequences while no one was touching the gun. Educational programs can take credit for this. And we can also thank Hollywood for keeping the public apprised of all snazzy new state of the art firearms. And, guns (and guitars) are as American as Ukrainian beet borscht! Maybe even more so! footnote: It was not revealed if Clinton used a duck blind belonging to a well heeled Democrat or if he was in the island's state wildlife mgmt area. Any available private blinds in that section of the flyway could easily lease for over $10,000 a season, especially in The Chesapeake Bay watershed. The best privately held ones (where waterfowl raft up in great numbers each year) can seldom be purchased for any amount, remaining in the families and being willed to others. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that the Sheik Of Araby or the owner of Coor's Beer or even a supreme court justice would have allowed their status symbol blinds to be used for Clinton's almost butch stage play. I still remember that shameful episode to this day. I contend that another hunter shot a duck and the deceased drake made an appearance in Clinton's hunting entourage at the appropriate moment.
#2. To: X-15 (#0)
“guns are dangerous”
#3. To: X-15 (#0)
He writes, “It’s easier to get people to see that they don’t want something than that they don’t have a right to it.
#4. To: GreyLmist, BTP Holdings (#3)
#5. To: HOUNDDAWG (#4)
After Clinton dressed up in pricey and fashionable marsh camo and pretended to hunt waterfowl
>
-Alex Kurtagic
#6. To: HOUNDDAWG, X-15, 4 (#4)
Then, there's Big Dick capping his lawyer. Pity he wasn't using buckshot...
“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken
#7. To: Lod (#6)
Pity he wasn't using buckshot. That's a BIG 10-Roger! As you know the lawyer was a bigshot Republican in the state machine which is why he hosted the drunk who maimed him. And they waited several days to report it, presumably to give them time to search for a willing chump sacrifice (unsuccessfully-"we can't fly him in without a paper trail! Damn!) and time for Dick to dry out. ("Oh, Winesap? He's dead, a nasty accident. But, don't worry, no one will mourn one less lawyer in the world...."_Satan Then, there's Big Dick capping his lawyer.
#8. To: HOUNDDAWG (#7)
Classic and good stuff - thanks!
“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken
#9. To: HOUNDDAWG (#4)
When I lived in Illinois, the Bearded Bandit was a bank robber. A Buffalo Grove cop stopped him for a traffic violation. He shot the BG cop with an Australian Semi-auto pistol, which is .223 cal. I remember seeing a picture of a BG cop in the newspaper, carrying an MP-5 (9mm) selective fire weapon while searching for him. They finally did catch him. A guy I worked with, his Dad was a Deputy U.S. Marshall. He killed the Bearded Bandit on the parking ramp of the Dirksen Federal Building trying to escape. ;) and certainly not the machine guns with which he was surrounded.)
"When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke
#10. To: X-15, 4 (#0)
I agree this professor might "panic", "fumble", "shoot a family member", allow an "unarmed burglar strip him of his gun" or have a "loading accident." On the other hand, he could put a dollar down on tonight's Mega lottery and hit for $575 million. The odds are about the same in both scenarios. Liberals are psychotic pussies. “I may panic and shoot a family member coming home late, fumble around and allow an unarmed burglar to take my gun, have a cleaning or loading accident,” Gutting imagines.
#11. To: X-15 (#5)
Well, I'd like to say that Clinton wouldn't lie. I'd like to say it, but I can't. And, the Secret Service wouldn't leave the president exposed and I contend that their presence probably kept the birds well away from their location. If the agents were hidden well enough not to interfere then they weren't watching the prez very well. And, ducks are very wary once the season opens and they're fired upon and they probably wouldn't approach decoys if men could be seen in the perimeter around the blind. There's always a chance of a naive straggler/local flying right into the kill zone, so one duck taken may have been the way it was. But, they almost certainly ruined a good hunting day for others in the name of unilateral personal disarmament. And people not only plan vacations around the season but waterfowling is expensive, requiring sacrifice from many working folks. Any man who'd logjam LA's beautiful people in traffic for hours while he receives a Hollywood haircut certainly wouldn't be concerned about the rights of whites in general and hunters in particular. I still remember that shameful episode to this day. I contend that another hunter shot a duck and the deceased drake made an appearance in Clinton's hunting entourage at the appropriate moment.
#12. To: BTP Holdings (#9)
A guy I worked with, his Dad was a Deputy U.S. Marshall. He killed the Bearded Bandit on the parking ramp of the Dirksen Federal Building trying to escape. ;) Hey, I love the MP5. But a YouTube vid showed a Downey, CA cop (where Karen Carpenter lived and died) on the street during a traffic stop of a Mexican, and even though the man was cooperating and had his hands up the cop fired a burst and killed him for no reason! There were no sudden "furtive" or threatening gestures and the video clearly showed that it was unnecessary. But I assume that the written report was used to decide that it was a good shooting and there was no more said about it. The man was unarmed and there were two cops next to him to take him down if needed. The shooter was 20 ft away and obviously anxious to try the gun. Everyone was standing still which is why he could take the shot without hitting other cops. It rattles me to think about it now. SMG wielding cops in Italy and other Euro countries seem to manage their SMGs without needlessly hosing anyone. But the day I arrived in CA the news announced that the odds of being shot by a cop in LA County were better than dying in a car wreck. When I lived in Illinois, the Bearded Bandit was a bank robber. A Buffalo Grove cop stopped him for a traffic violation. He shot the BG cop with an Australian Semi-auto pistol, which is .223 cal. I remember seeing a picture of a BG cop in the newspaper, carrying an MP-5 (9mm) selective fire weapon while searching for him. They finally did catch him.
#13. To: HOUNDDAWG (#7)
I used to have a .45 Colt Derringer. You could switch off and use .410 shot shells with it. Mine had three 000 Buck shot pellets in them. Never had to use them. But, it darn sure would have ripped someone a new one if I had. ROTFLOL! Pity he wasn't using buckshot.
"When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke
#14. To: HOUNDDAWG (#12) (Edited)
That is a scary statistic. ;) Matter of fact. I was in L.A. when I was driving the big truck. We would go out to Kingman, AZ and sometimes they would send us into California to pick up a load. Traffic was usually a snarl. the odds of being shot by a cop in LA County were better than dying in a car wreck
"When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke
#15. To: HOUNDDAWG (#11)
Maybe he wouldn't lie, but the DEA got a phone recording of him on the phone with his brother, telling his brother, "Yeah, go pick up another pound." (of cocaine) He has a perforated septum. A hole in his nose from doing too much good coke. ;) Well, I'd like to say that Clinton wouldn't lie.
"When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke
#16. To: BTP Holdings (#13)
I remember those guns well. In the 1987 film ASSASSINATION Charles Bronson was a secret service agent who carried his in an ankle holster. He fired the .410 into a bad perthun and won the fight. As I recall 000 shot is .33 caliber, so a blast at point blank range would be the ruff equivalent of three simultaneous .357 slugs ruining your day. Remington's Ultimate Home Defense loads have 4- 000 pellets at a listed velocity of 1225 fps. I wouldn't want to fire those in a Derringer. 3 pellets at around 1100 fps would be great and would allow me to still hold on to the gun.
#17. To: BTP Holdings (#14)
Although I don't wanna live there again, what I wouldn't give to leave now on that trip and just as the song said, "with a pocket full of west coast turn arounds!" Matter of fact. I was in L.A. when I was driving the big truck. We would go out to Kingman, AZ and sometimes they would send us into California to pick up a load. Traffic was usually a snarl.
#18. To: BTP Holdings (#15)
lol! ... the DEA got a phone recording of him on the phone with his brother, telling his brother, "Yeah, go pick up another pound."
#19. To: HOUNDDAWG (#17)
Anything! traveling over 1200fps, correctly placed is gonna hurt.
“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken
#20. To: Lod (#19)
"Anything traveling over 1200fps, correctly placed is gonna hurt.", Mr Lod wrote, without fear of contradiction! 
#21. To: HOUNDDAWG (#16)
BTW, I sold that derringer back to the guy I bought it from. He said he was going to have it gold-plated and mounted. Don't know if he ever did it. ;)
"When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke
#22. To: HOUNDDAWG (#4)
I could only find this similar example from a 2A discussion at thehighroad but it bears repeating often: fjolnirsson: "It isn't a question of 'need'. [...] It's a matter of rights."To quote someone whose name escapes me, "It's not a question of need, it's a question of rights."
FM2Wildcat: "please tell me why someone needs a freaking cannon?"
-------
"They're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time." -- Col. Puller, USMC
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