Guns offer false security

USA Today ^ | 6/10/2003 | Kimberly Shearer Palmer

[RogueIsland]

Before I held a revolver, I thought only police officers and psychopaths shot guns. Guns seemed uncontrollable objects that could inflict death at any moment; I preferred to avoid them.

Then I learned how to shoot. My friends arranged a trip to a shooting range outside Chicago. Our instructor, a former police officer, taught us how to stand and point, hunching our shoulders for accuracy. We shot at the target silhouettes' heart and lungs before aiming for its head. In real life, our instructor explained, our attackers might wear bulletproof vests.

[Leatherneck_MT]

Someone has been watching too much of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and then morphing it into real life.

My petite little wife sports a .45. I pity the fool who tries to attack her.

[oldfart]

"Guns can be taken away, and women can be killed by their own guns."

Any woman who would let a man taake her gun away from her and use it against her deserves to die. It's the Darwinian principle of 'survival of the fittest,' and such a woman shouldn't be allowed to procreat.

[quack]

I've been pinged !I've been pinged!

Sorry,it's my first time.

[quack]

ping!

There!Now you too can feel the power of.........PING.

[TX Bluebonnet]

Trained gun ownership over-confidence is bad, but a few hours of unarmed "self-defense" training over-confidence is good?

Exactly the point I was going to make!

[RogueIsland]

That's why the proper technique is two shots to the chest and one to the head.

Correct. I think just about every good school is now teachng a controlled pair to COM, follow up to cranial-ocular cavity if necessary.

[quack]

Asked why most martial arts movies didn't take place in modern times,Bruce Lee simply took his hand out of his coat,imitating a gun,and fired it.He said people have guns these days and martial arts is less likely to be effective.(or something like that in an interview I saw him in)

[Beck_isright]

Hmmm, let me get this straight. The coke infused, crack infested thugs in my area use bulletproof vests. They are going to spend $900 for a bulletproof vest instead of crack or whatever it is they use. Sounds logical to me. </.223 sarcasm off

[1Old Pro]

women who own handguns are more than twice as likely to be murdered with a firearm by their partners than those who do not. I can see why she chose not to use the raw date; perhaps the numbers in question are .0000001% vs. .0000002%. But that wouldn't have the impact of twice as many.

My first thought as well.

[1Old Pro]

your most formidable Personal Protection devices are your eyes. Observe your surroundings.

First, you need something between the ears.

[1Old Pro]

At close range, the attacker wearing a bullet proof vest would be hurting from the busted ribs and bruises if shot by a .38 cal or higher handgun. Not unless he is wearing a Level III with Kevlar/Steel Plate body armor.

How many "attackers" were kevlar vets?? I don't know but I'll bet not many, if any.

[colorado tanker]

Observe your surroundings.

Well, there is something to that. Even if a woman is armed, it won't do much good if a bad guy has already got her covered with a weapon or she'e in his grasp. I've tried, but I've found it real hard to teach the women in my family the observation skills and street smarts I picked up in the military. They rarely pick up when they are under observation or are being followed.

[ampat]

I doubt that women buy guns to protect themselves from their partners. For those problems the solution is separation. Women buy guns to protect themselves in their homes and on the street from criminals.

[1Old Pro]

They rarely pick up when they are under observation or are being followed.

No kidding. My wife had a guy following us around as we looked at a number of menus posted outside some restaurants in Portland, NH last year. I finally pointed this out to her as he was clearly hoping to stand behind her and take her visible wallet from her open handbag.

We later saw him on the street with a few of his low life friends. I guess some women just don't think about these things.e

[colorado tanker]

No kidding. Last summer when we were in D.C. I tried to hurry my wife and oldest daughter down the street, but they wanted to stop and argue about where to eat. I had to point out to them that a street person about ten yards away was following us.

[fawn796]

Honey, is that you??
(sorry, just hadda - my husband has a skidloader, from PA, carries a .45, and loves to shoot critters). Nice to meet ya - Welcome to FR

[Shooter 2.5]

We don't bump people, we bump articles. If I want an article to go to the top and become noticed, I'll address the post to myself.

Here's the link to the bang list if you're interested. Just bookmark it:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/involved?group=152