Trying to understand the fear...

Why do anti's seem to fear the worst case scenario when guns are mentioned?

It seems regardless of the venue, whether it be here on THR, the local newspaper, national media, or politicians, their one great fear is:

PEOPLE HAVING GUNS.

It never fails that whenever the subject of people buying, owning, trading, carrying on their person or in their cars, collecting, or shooting guns, the anti's immediately go for the doomsday scenarios.

-You hear of predicted blood baths on the streets over simple fender benders.
-You hear of massacres happening if everyone had guns in the LA Riots or Katrina.
-You hear of multiple conceal carry holders shooting each other because they don't know who the bad guy is.
-You hear of students if allowed to carry, shooting teachers over bad grades, students shooting each other because of arguments, or too much alchohol.
-You hear of people carrying their guns in cars to work, heading out and getting their guns to settle office disputes.

And the list goes on and on and on. My simple question is why?

I have argued, explained, debated, and discussed this with anti's when I get the chance, but most of them over the internet won't give any reasons and fall back to the usual stance of calling me names and questioning my need for guns.

None of these doomsday prophecies ever play out, but why do anti's immediately go to the doomsday scenarios anytime guns are discussed?

Any ideas?

Is it a general fear or phobia regarding guns? If so, why do they have this. Media, parenting, born with it?

Is it a general mental or emotional imbalance that leads them to think about these doomsday scenarios?

Is it propaganda that they deliberately throw out to try to make their case more dramatic or impactful?

I know most of us are gun owners, but I'm hoping in some peoples travels and interactions, they have happened across something that might explain this.

I once heard a liberal boss get cut off in traffic say to me "If I had a gun I'd have shot at the SOB..."

It's called projecting. Liberals lack self control and assume everyone else does too.

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I actually think there is some truth to that. I don't want to label all liberals that way, but they are an emotional creature, not to be ruled by logic or reason.

I'm not an anti, but I am a card carrying liberal (as FiremanBob puts it), and I'll tell you what scares me...it's not "People Having Guns", it's "Stupid People Having Guns".

For probably every five knowledgeable, responsible gun owners I know personally, I know one who I really wish would just surrender their weapons (to me, of course, so I can have more) before someone gets hurt who doesn't deserve it.

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Ok Pen, so my question to you is why are you so afraid of stupid people having guns? The numbers just don't play out that support an idea that even "stupid" people with guns are going to cause much trouble.

The facts show that unless you are part of 1 of 2 segments of society, your chances of being shot and killed by a gun are very small, especially when taken in context with other things that could be deadly to your health.

For data from 2005 and 2007, the latest that can be gathered:

In 2007 the FBI reported 10,067 arrests in murder and non-negligent manslaughter cases in 2007. Half of the people arrested — 5,078 — were black.

Combine that with the latest data we have which is for 2005 and it shows:

In 2005, the most recent year for which data is available, and happens to align closely with the 2007 FBI info, 55 percent of the gun-related deaths in the United States were suicides. There was nothing special about 2005, as suicides have been the number-one gun death for 20 of the past 25 years. In 2005, 40 percent of gun-related deaths were murders; three percent were accidents, and 2 percent were legal killings, including when police shot criminals and those of undetermined intent.

So roughly breaking that down based on 2005 numbers:
-1 of every 10,000 people in the U.S. dies from a gun.
-16,500 of those 30,000 gun deaths are from a suicide, which can hardly be blamed on the gun. If people want to die, they will find a way.
-And based on 2005 numbers you are looking at roughly 1,500 legal shooting deaths or accidental gun deaths in a country of 300 million, significantly less than the roughly 10,067 murdered in 2007.

If you aren't suicidal or a black male, the chances are you will be pretty safe from dying from a gun shot wound. But the way the media portrays things, you would think with all the guns and gun owners running around, you have to wear a bullet proof vest and keep your head down.

I guess I just hope for some perspective on this, but that is too much to ask for.

Part of it, I think, is simply a result of the fact that people have forgotten how to reason. As a result, they buy, hook, line, and sinker, into the notion that an individual who buys a gun is somehow transformed. In their minds, the average Joe (or to expand on my earlier thoughts, Joe Bob), upon becoming a gun owner, is transformed. A formerly decent respectable member of society, mesmerized by the lethal power now at his disposal, becomes more violent and less respectful of life. Joe, who would formerly just get red-faced at being cut off in traffic, now is likely to start killing.

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Where is the disconnect in "their minds" that allows them to make this rationalization?

I carry a gun for one primary reason, to be able to defend myself, family, or other innocent, should the need arise. But I also realize that the chances I will ever have to use my weapon are very, very slim. It could happen, so I would rather be prepared, but it is just very unlikely in the life I live. I don't have a disconnect that says, "now that I'm a concealed weapons holder, I'm instantly transformed into supercop and ready to battle evil at the wink of an eye."

I am rational enough to understand that technically and practically I am going to be safer if the need should arise that I need a gun and I have it, but realistically I know that there is a good chance I could probably live my entire life without needing to pull my gun on a person. (Knock on wood)

I just don't get the disconnect these people have from reality, and it bothers me that you can't reason with them. I don't usually resort to name calling, but a lot of these anti's are just complete morons and tools.

I would guess that most instances of a child accidentally shooting someone (intentionally is a separate, though related issue), stem from poor firearms education, lack of proper storage, proper handling procedures...in other words, irresponsible gun ownership.

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I would agree with this statement wholeheartedly, but it doesn't change the FACT that more kids die from car accidents, being hit directly by a car, falling from a bike or some other structure, drowning, and even burning to death, than die from accidental gun discharges. Perspective is an amazing thing. Even 1 kid dying from an AD is sad and preventable, but using it as a crusade to curb gun rights or spread propaganda is a joke.

Last year in Phoenix there was another story every 2 or 3 weeks of a kid drowning or almost drowning. Do you think there were any calls for pool control, outlawing pools, or jailing the people? Nope. Nice double standard.

Professionally, I work as a Private Investigator. I have my own set of statistics (I'll have to look them up) about P.I.s who've been shot and killed while legally performing their jobs. Sometimes it's by blatant criminals. Sometimes it's just by normal people who don't like being spied on, who don't know the law and who therefore think they're within their rights to shoot a "keyhole peeper"...in other words, irresponsible gun owners.

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If someone fires a gun at a PI and it was or is illegal for them to do so, they should be charged and found guilty for their actions. But I've got to tell you, if you are creeping around someones property and looking into their house, you'd better be damn quick or be armed yourself, because actions like that will elicit a strong response from most people. If someone was prowling around my backyard, I wouldn't just shoot them, but they better have a DAMN good explanation and they can tell it to the cops when they bust them for trespassing. If you play with fire, chances are you can get burned.

Every anti has their own reasoning and experiences to base their opinion on. Some of them may be frivolous or groundless, but it's a mistake to assume that they all are.

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That is why I started this thread, I can't for the life of me understand where these people are coming from. Do they really think it would be more noble to have themselves or an unarmed person die rather than be able to fight back? I wish we could get a better handle on why people are anti-gun, because then we could more effectively battle it.