If you had owned a gun....
 

If you had owned a gun, would it ever have prevented you from getting raped or mugged? We read MrNoodle's story that he believes just seeing his gun made his allegedly would-be attackers flee. Has your owning a gun ever stopped an attacker? Were you packing when this happened? Did you shoot someone? Did they die from the gunshot wounds that you inflicted? Did you brandish your gun before the violence started? If you did, how were you sure that violence was about to ensue? Were you protecting your physical safety? Were you ensuring that you retained your posessions? If violence had already started, were you able to use your gun effectively? Was your gun ever taken from you? Was your gun legal? Was your attacker armed? With what weapon? Have you ever prevented an attack using a weapon other than a firearm?

Let's see some stories!

The Cellar is gettin' pretty big, could you link to Noodles story please? Thanks!

Sure

from page 16 of this thread.

If you are looking for anecdotal evidence, the only one I have is that my grandfather was a gun owner. His home was robbed once when he wasn't home (lived out in the country in an isolated location) and the thieves took their time taking all his good stuff, including all his guns. The result was that his guns didn't protect him and they are now in the hands of criminals.

You could tell me, but then you'd have to kill me? :D

not ever been raped or mugged, how would I know?

Not me, but it affected me as a child and left a lasting impression.

Many years ago, Mother and her fiance took my younger sis and I (ages 8 and 11) to a state park for a day of fresh air and picnicing at Frank Raines State Park, up in the foothills of the California farmlands along the San Juaquin Valley. We stayed all day, playing in the playground, hiking some trails and catching polliwogs in the creek. We had sandwiches for lunch and for dinner Bill fired up a BBQ and made steaks to go with some side dishes Mom had brought. We thought it was a treat to have such a grand meal outdoors!

It was after dark when we finished eating and we were lounging on two huge quilts layed side-by-side and illuminated by Bill's coleman lantern. Mom & Bill were reclined, snuggling and talking while Sis and I were coloring in books with crayons and such. We shared the park with a few other visiters during the day, but by dusk, we were the only ones left.

I noticed a change in voice tone between Mom and Bill and looked up to see two young men (early/mid 20s?) approaching us out of the dark. No vehicle had pulled into the lot or driven past on the road at the bottom of the hill. As they approached, Bill reached his hand under a nearby quilt corner and the "snick" of the safety being released was clearly heard in the night.

The two men immediately stopped approaching. One commented about 'how safe the sound of a gun sounded' to him. I have always remembered that comment because I found it a strange thing for a person on the other end of a gun to say. They chit-chatted for about a minute more and then left.

Were they up to no good? I am certain of it.
I don't want to speculate about what could have, or would have, happened without having had that gun available...but I am certain the "snick" curtailed any thoughts of mayhem with us that night.
hh

The idea of picnicking with a gun ready under a quilt boggles ones mind.

How far was Bill from shooting probably innocent people? If the guys had bad intentions bullets would have been exchanged already.

This statement boggles the mind. I suppose it at least speaks to your good character that you have absolutely no freaking clue how a criminal thinks or acts.

Thank you for the link, I'd have never found it!

I grew up with my father's guns locked in a glass front gun cabinet in our basement den. We as a family spent a lot of time in there, because that's where the TV with cable was. I believe there was a handgun in my parent's bedroom as well, but I don't recall aver finding or playing with it. The gun cabinet had maybe 4 shotguns and some other handguns and black powder rifles, as well as some ammunition in the locked drawers. I honestly don't remember much because I guess they were just part of the background. He would take them out shooting occasionally, and I went along some of the time. When his brother commited suicide (only sib, shotgun to the head) he inherited their father's gun collection, which included some antiques and ones with personal value. My brother and I were taught gun safety and respect. Mostly with the fear of a beating like we'd never seen if we messed with them when he wasn't around :).

fastforward to ~5 years ago:

I'm married and out of the house. My dad is dead, my brother is living at home with mom, and hanging out with some real winners. My mom calls one day to tell me the house had been broken into, and low and behold, guess what the main target was.

None of the guns have been recovered, to my knowledge.

Bottom line. Guns first in hands of responsible owner. Owner dies, leaving irresponsible wife in charge. Guns now in the hands of ???

My husband's guns are in a fireproof gun safe with combination lock. That was the law I laid down once our child was born. An unbreakable-into safe. Actually it's nice, cause it's fireproof, and doubles as our safety deposit box for important stuff.

I have never been involved with any incidents regarding guns. We don't keep any in the house out of the safe, so they wouldn't do us any good in the case of a break-in. I want to learn to properly shoot our handguns, but it hasn't been a priority.

While sitting at an intersection at a red light behind several other cars some years ago, a guy walked up to my window, banged on it, and made the "get out of the car" motion. It surprised me so much I rolled the window down a bit thinking he wanted change, but instead was yelled at to get out of the car. The guy seemed enraged. I'm not sure why, but at that moment I felt the need to proceed calmly and even said "just a moment" before I opened the glove box to retrieve my HK. The moment I had my hand on the grip, his arms lifted into the air and he quickly walked away.

Does that mean having a gun in the car managed to scare away a possible carjacker? Maybe, although I would have felt a lot more threatened had he approached the passenger side. He clearly wanted the car, not me. Was it the right thing to do? Absolutely not, especially given Florida state law at the time.

Would I repeat the same action when placed in that situation again? You bet.

Bill was a former city policeman and quite schooled in the use of guns and how to deal with the 'criminal element'. I'm sure if they started something, Bill would have finished it, but having the gun available and ready meant he was prepared. They obviously were not...
These characters approached us out of the dark, in a State park in the late 70s wearing t-shirt, jeans and probably workboots. They were tall and lanky, hair about medium/short length, not too scraggly looking...I guess I thought they looked 'okay', not scary or out-of-place if I'd seen them somewhere else.... I seriously doubt they had weapons, certainly not guns, but perhaps they wanted to intimidate a family and rob them for fun or drug money?

I distinctly remember not feeling scared at all. I knew Bill would take care of us.
hh

If you had owned a gun, would it ever have prevented you from getting raped or mugged?


Certainly can`t hurt................

Can't imagine you have. Do you really think bad guys will approach you openly in t-shirts? Of course they stopped immediately cause they were the ones who got scared. All the rest is just guessing.

Hoof Hearted; just the idea of picknicking with a gun ready is just unheard of overhere, I expect that in countries like Russia, Cheznia, Iraq but not in the US.

Will, and have.

Jesus Christ man, a t-shirt is a t-shirt. Everyone from homeless people to millionaires wears t-shirts. What do you think they should be wearing, ninja outfits?

I suppose I'll reiterate: Bill was a police officer (experienced with guns and their appropriate use), we were picnicing at a remote location and it was after dark when we were approached. I would have to ask Mother, but I'm pretty sure the gun was locked in the glovebox of the car until dusk and the lantern had to come out...
I don't give a damn skippy if the two t-shirt guys were freaked out by the snick of the safety coming off... we were just fine enjoying our family-time and needed no further company. They had no business with us, as evidenced by them leaving shortly after the short discussion exchange.
hh

Maybe it varies elsewhere, but in the south carrying a gun is not usually a big deal. The few times I've interacted with police, they've never seemed to care that I was packing and have even declined to see my permit when offered. Most don't seem to be alarmed by it, most people just don't seem to care.

No way. Criminals are always identified by the little black mask, bag with a dollar symbol on it, and "sneaky walk".

I got the idea already HH, just as I said: enjoying the country whilst needing a gun is unthinkable overhere. Having said that, I wouldn't go out in deserted places at night with my family.

I guess that's because in the US more people carry guns than cell phones.

Are you for real? Have you even BEEN here?

Yep, I'm real and I've been there.

Ridiculous hyperbole is so much fun to throw around, isn't it? Here in 'Merica we also sometimes refer to it as bullshit.

Hmm, in my house we carry 3 cell phones between us - and no guns. I know lots of kids who carry phones, but no guns. I'm thinking whomever gave you that statistic was a bit skewed.

Then you obviously weren't paying attention. 2 cells, no heat.

that does give me an idea for a new ringtone...;)

I never saw a handgun in the first 25 years of my life. Since then I have only seen handguns in private homes, gun stores, and firing ranges. I have never seen a handgun in public and I have never seen a handgun used against anything but paper targets. I can't remember anyone I have ever known who has ever used a handgun against anything but paper targets.

I grew up surrounded by guns. My dad had always collected and carried, my mom carried for a while, they were kept for protection at my parents businesses, they were all over the house and barns at the farm for protection and hunting, the were all over our home - in cabinets, displayed, and often just generally laying around (my parents were not very 'responsible' gun owners now that I think about it...).

I'm not into guns myself, and never felt I needed one, although I always enjoyed hunting.

Where are you located? Am I correct in thinking that England has banned guns and only the criminal element has possession of said guns? Is the rest of Europe the same way or are they more lenient?
I don't know, and would like to know...

I am certain the gun was only brought out because of Bill's law enforcement experience (dealing with bad shit every day makes you much more aware of it) and because the park was miles away from civilization (homes, gas station, freeway) and we were there at night.

Could we get away with it today? Maybe. Maybe not. ...but I'm certain I wouldn't take my family to that same park, in that same manner, after dark, in today's world. Safety in numbers.
hh

...so I guess out of the 17,789,864 people in the state of Florida there were less than 289,644 cell phone users in 2004?

You watch too many movies/too much television.

I've never seen a gun brandished in public.
I've never seen anyone shot in public.
I've never seen a shot fired outside of a firing range/hunting area.

Hippikos is completely correct. In the US, the number of guns carried by people far exceeds the number of guns carried by cell phones.

Lighten up, people. You owe him and apology.

The only time I carry a gun is when I Know I am going to be out late out of town in an area that I don't know verry well ( Indusrial parks , different neiborhoods , etc,,, )
That being said I have been held up twice ( when I was younger ) , Have looked down the barrels of a sawed off shot gun ( it looked kinda like this % , but bigger ) ,
and I saw a guy get capped in the head for scuffing another dudes shoe ( he just wipped out a .38 and shot him in the side of the head , dude was dead befor he hit the floor )

HH and every body else , Cops are trained to plan for the worst , those two fine fellows had NO business walking up on the family , Bill was just getting prepaired , just incase , I would have done the same .

Did you own a gun then? If you did, did it help? If you didn't, would owning a gun have helped?

I no longer carry, I should note, and it wasn't very difficult for me to come to that decision.

The original reasons I had for applying for my permit included living in a high crime area, traveling through one, traveling very long distances along back roads alone, and threats of violence against me from someone who became unstable.

The solutions to these were simple: I moved to a better neighborhood, I now avoid driving through the areas of town that I don't consider safe, I have a roadside service card that ensures I'm not stranded in the event of a breakdown, and the unstable individual problem managed to take care of itself.

I simply couldn't bear the weight of making a quick decision that would end someone's life. I wasn't trained to make instantaneous judgments like that and in seeing the mistakes professionals often make in the confusion of a situation, I couldn't take that responsibility with no training at all.

I also wasn't willing to take my chances with the law. After reading the example cases provided in Florida Firearms Law, Use & Ownership and their outcomes, I concluded that there was more chance of my life getting ruined by me being in the wrong place at the wrong time while packing a gun than a gun saving me from a dangerous situation. I made a huge mistake by even opening my glove box when the guy that wanted my car came knocking -- I'm lucky that incident didn't land me in jail. I also now travel to a university campus daily, I travel near elementary schools constantly, and there is no time during the day where I'm not near a school bus stop. Even my employer has a rule stating I will be terminated for simply having a gun in my car in their parking lot, a power the state has no control over.

The risks to me, by far, greatly exceed the incredibly slim chance of providing a benefit.

I was on a jury where a guy had a gun in a gym bag in his car's locked trunk and he had parked in an elementary school parking lot while going in to give something to his child. He was pulled over shortly after that and the gun was found in his trunk. He never tried to hide it.

We never got to deliberate, because it became apparent when the judge read the statute that the guy had incriminated himself in his testimony when he said he drove onto the elementary school's grounds. They reached some sort of plea bargain, and I don't know what happened to the guy.

If I remember correctly, you can only bring a gun onto school property in Virginia if it is secured in a locked container, in your car's trunk. The gym bag wasn't locked, even though the trunk was. The poor guy broke the law and didn't even know it.

Did you own a gun then?
Yes , but its knid of hard to conceal a shot gun with a 28" barrel in your pants
If you did, did it help?
See above ,
If you didn't, would owning a gun have helped?
Probley not at first , but as they were locking us in the freezer the thought did cross my mind ( if I had my friends .45 I could take care of this :greenface :greenface :greenface ).

Let me say that I live in a pretty decent area of South Florida. I was not attacked, raped or mugged during this scenario. However, firing the gun into the ground did stop my generator from being stolen during post-Wilma '05. I own a registered 9mm ruger and a pump action 12ga mossberg, both typically kept in a locked glass case. For 3 weeks after Wilma that case was empty and the guns were readily available.

There had been a rash of generator thefts in the neighborhood. The thieves would turn on a lawn mower, cut through the lock, turn off your generator and cart it back to their truck leaving the lawn mower running. I'm usually in bed around 4am so I was awake when they came by my place, which is probably the only reason I caught the difference in the sound. I couldn't shoot someone unless my life depended upon it. However, being 6'4, 220lbs I can easily scare the crap out of someone if necessary. I deemed it necessary that night.

Were they armed? As it turns out they were but luckily their guns were all in the truck. I caught the first half of their plate and the color of their pickup, they were caught 2 days later and the partial id I'd made helped to confirm them. yeah, I'm glad I had my firearms but not so pleased that i had to use them.

Welcome to the Cellar Jordan, and thanks for your story.