"I don't need a gun."

[bigbayou87]

Hello THR,
I don't often post, but I've been a dedicated follower for years.

I'm interested in selling a firearm and before i post it on the classifieds of the firearm forums i visit, I decided to give a 'heads-up' to my friends and trusted co-workers. Some are interested, some are not, but some say they don't need one.

It hurts me to hear that. No other way for me to explain my feelings upon hearing that line except it hurts me. 'I don't need one' pretty much sums up what some think the purpose of a firearm is for.

I do understand that a firearm is a tool with an intended job, but most of my firearms are range toys except for my daily carry firearm. Guns that could be used for defense, but only kill paper.

Sorry for the rant, but hearing that hated line so many times in a short time frame compelled me to seek out like minded individuals to cry to.

Btw, the firearm is a blued taurus 1911. Not a tactical, evil looking killing machine.

 

[No4Mk1*]

I find it interesting that the vast majority will make no preparations for defense, food & water when thousands of years of written history suggests that preparation is wise. Most everyone is too busy with "life"

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

These are the same people who don't need a generator or batteries before a blackout. They don't extra food and water before a hurricane or blizzard. They don't need some form of non-electronic money storage...until a market crash wipes them out.

These are people who have been trained their whole lives to expect and demand a massive infrastructure of public systems to support them and keep them alive and happy. Police, Fire, EMS, FEMA, Red Cross, etc.

And they have no idea what to do when those services vanish even for a few days.

They don't and won't need a gun. Until they get rob and shot themselves.

 

[Arbo]

I find it interesting that the vast majority will make no preparations for defense, food & water when thousands of years of written history suggests that preparation is wise. Most everyone is too busy with "life"

I am kinda glad the vast majority, in big cities and such, are like that, they will be the first to go...

 

[r1derbike]

I am kinda glad the vast majority, in big cities and such, are like that, they will be the first to go...

I think metropolitan areas, if the unthinkable happens, will be powder kegs with a million matches.

I hope everyone runs out of ammo before rural states are hit!

 

[gbran]

People don't need fire extiguishers..... until they do.

 

[mljdeckard]

Rosa Parks didn't NEED to sit at the front of the bus. But she still had the right. Two different things.

 

[mrvco]

There is a big difference between "I don't need a gun" and "You don't need a gun".

Like freedom of religion, free speech, etc... It's an individual's right, not a requirement of each individual. There are plenty of non-anti folks out there that choose not to take on the responsibility inherit in firearms ownership and I don't begrudge them one bit.

I'd rather approach such conversations as "Here are the reasons why you may want a gun...". "You need a gun" smacks far too much of the dogmatic nanny-state mentality (albeit the opposite end of the spectrum than what is typical) that is so widespread nowadays.

 

[barnbwt]

I don't need a 1911 (sorry) .

What I do need is:
500-1000 more rounds of
9mm
5.7x28mm
7.62x25mm
.357magnum
.44 Russian
308 Winchester
7.5 Swiss
30-06
7.62x39mm
200 of 50 Alaskan
3000 of 22LR
More powder, bullets, and primers
Edit: Oh, and a TIG welder

...and the space and money to pay for it all! BTW, most people in cities can't prep very easily due to space constraints (I'm in an apartment and can barely get almost a week's food/water into my one free cabinet--so guns have to share safe-space with the ammo ). Most people also don't bother to keep more than a week or two's pay in the bank account either (sad and unwise, but true nonetheless), so I suppose you can't fault them for not also keeping hundreds/thousands worth of emergency supplies, either

TCB

 

[Solo]

Hello THR,
I don't often post, but I've been a dedicated follower for years.

I'm interested in selling a firearm and before i post it on the classifieds of the firearm forums i visit, I decided to give a 'heads-up' to my friends and trusted co-workers. Some are interested, some are not, but some say they don't need one.

It hurts me to hear that. No other way for me to explain my feelings upon hearing that line except it hurts me. 'I don't need one' pretty much sums up what some think the purpose of a firearm is for.

I do understand that a firearm is a tool with an intended job, but most of my firearms are range toys except for my daily carry firearm. Guns that could be used for defense, but only kill paper.

Sorry for the rant, but hearing that hated line so many times in a short time frame compelled me to seek out like minded individuals to cry to.

Btw, the firearm is a blued taurus 1911. Not a tactical, evil looking killing machine.

I'd be interested in acquiring a Taurus. Got any pics?

 

[MedWheeler]

Rosa Parks didn't NEED to sit at the front of the bus. But she still had the right. Two different things.

This is for a different argument. The OP is referring to people who not only feel they don't need a gun, but also do not, at this time, wish to exercise their right to own one.

Ms. Parks did not need to sit up front. But, not only did she have the right to do, she actually wanted to do so.

Oh, and by the way, I don't need one either (at this moment; should that change, that change will probably be quite sudden!)

 

[Hacker15E]

Well, that's what liberty is all about.

Citizens have the right to choose for themselves. If someone doesn't need one...oh, well, that's their decision and none of my business.

 

[Ehtereon11B]

Wife and I have both been in rather hairy situations. She was living in New Orleans when Katrina happened. She knows the value of having cash, stored food, clean water, and firearms. I have been snowed in my house for a few days on end to know warm blankets, candles, and cooking equipment that won't kill you are valuable. To hear someone say "I don't need a gun" is someone who has never turned on the news to see a self defense story.

 

[Grassman]

I need .223 brass

 

[larryh1108]

People who don't "need" a gun are the same people who think the police are there to protect them. They fail to grasp the concept that the police arrive after they are needed. They don't have crystal balls.

 

[shafter]

We don't own guns because we need them but rather because we might need them someday. It's good to be prepared.

Plus they're just plain fun too.

 

[ThorinNNY]

Experience is a great teacher.You`ll learn from your own experiences unless you`re an idiot. But it`s wiser to learn from other people`s experience. But Nanny State government types try to discourage it lest you discover you dont really need them.Better for them to keep you preoccupied with the antics of so-called celebrities than thinking for yourself.

 

[Vonderek]

I know this is an apples-to-oranges comparison but similarly not everyone needs a pet or to be a parent. The problem arises when folks perceive a need but are unsuited to the task.

Not everyone is suited to firearms ownership. If they feel they don't have the need then I am happier they don't have a gun that would probably be misused, poorly stored, stolen, or involved in an accident.

 

[KTXdm9]

There is a big difference between "I don't need a gun" and "You don't need a gun".

Like freedom of religion, free speech, etc... It's an individual's right, not a requirement of each individual. There are plenty of non-anti folks out there that choose not to take on the responsibility inherit in firearms ownership and I don't begrudge them one bit.

I'd rather approach such conversations as "Here are the reasons why you may want a gun...". "You need a gun" smacks far too much of the dogmatic nanny-state mentality (albeit the opposite end of the spectrum than what is typical) that is so widespread nowadays.

A very important distinction to make, thanks. Everyone has the right to do their own thing, as long as it doesn't infringe on the rights of others. It is their choice to be woefully unprepared, even if I do happen to think it's a bad one.

 

[radar1972]

If some of your friends "don't need one", then they don't need one. I believe what they really mean is they don't want one. Period.

 

[ccsniper]

Most everyone is too busy with "life"

This. They don't even think about putting a couple of cases of water and some extra food in the pantry till a blizzard comes through and disrupts their "life" with the threat of it ending. I always watch horror films the same way I view life, in those situations, "I wish I had..." its too late. BUT same thing goes for people who have all the right stuff but no training in how to use it. Someone with a gun and no training is just about as useless as someone with no gun.

 

[Gallstones]

I don't need them either. I just like having them and that is reason enough.

 

[stompah]

I don't need one either. Most of us don't need one. I have made it 35 years in life without needing one and I do not live in a sheltered suburban utopia.

I have my concealed permit and I mostly only carry on my days at the range since it alleviates some weight from my range bag. I avoid situations which I feel I need a firearm. I need to use my brain and I do.

You scorn people who say they don't need one. The same way they scorn us for saying we need one. Rather than rant about people who say they don't need one move on. You have became the same as people who say we don't need one. Forcing your view or at least publicly denouncing them as they do us.

 

[BigBore44]

Well we don't know what those people really meant. Did they mean they didn't need ANY gun as if guns were bad. Or did they mean they didn't need a gun because they had enough to satisfy their needs for HD/SD/Hunting/Target shooting.

The truth is I don't NEED another gun. I can do everything from hunt squirrels, to the Camp Perry national competition, to hunting every animal in Africa. That's just 3 of my rifles. And I can plink with my 22 pistols, to SD with my 45, to hunt dangerous game with my 44 mag. And that's just 3 of my pistols. I have several more of both handguns and long guns. But I don't NEED anymore.....

 

[bigbayou87]

Thank you all for replying and bringing up many good points of discussion, but I believe I failed to properly explain the namesake of this thread and what I think of people who use that line.

Some people think that guns are just for killing (self defence or assault) and not for recreation or collecting. For example, one of my coworkers who said that line explained that he lived in a nice neighborhood. Implying that he only views gun ownership for a singular purpose (home invasion).

It doesn't upset me that some people don't want/need a gun. That's their right, but It does bother me that there are people who view gun ownership only as a self defence only tool. These are the kind of people who mistakenly assume that you and me are just waiting to shoot down bad guys.

Get my point? I'm not bashing anybody for not exercising their rights, but I certainly feel low road when its implied that I own guns just for killing. So far, 100% of the ammo ive shot has been out of pure fun and recreation. I've never fired a single shot out of anger or fear and I hope I die an old man with the same percentage.

Stompah, now with proper context to the point I was trying to convey, do you still feel like I should be chucked in the same bag as the aniti gunners? From my experience, nobody on this site has made a thread/post that comes anywhere close to the polar opposite insanity of gun grabbers rhetoric and tactics. Comparing ANYBODY on THR to one of them is simply low road.