Most people who have a gun for self/personal defense, didn't always have one. How did they defend themselves walking down the street, at home, etc... prior to owning a gun?
Answers: 1)They didn't defend themselves - example: some years ago, my neighbor was accosted and hijacked by two hoods while getting out of his car.
2) By being street-wise, looking at what is ahead and who. By avoiding high crime areas. By adding extra locks to doors and windows. By parking their cars in well-lighted places.
Why, now that some people own a gun, (do) they throw out these other ways (usually your (their) brain) in defending themselves.(?) (Do)They now feel that the "GUN" can protect and save their lives.(,) Instead of realizing that the gun is simply a "TOOL".(and) That it is THEY who will protect themselves or allow themselves to get hurt or killed.(?)
Answers: There are two questions. 1) You are generalizing with the first question. Some people may throw caution to the winds but I suspect that most folk don't. Doubtless there are some folk who are seduced by the power of a firearm and the resulting feeling of empowerment that comes with having a gun on one's person. This mindset, if I may call it that, has been fed by Hollywood (remember Charles Bronson?) and even popular history (remember Bernie Goetz?) to give just two examples. Again, though, I suspect that many do not fall into that incautious way of thinking.
The second question is very much related to the idea that "guns don't kill people; people kill people."
Also, why do people who all of a sudden buy a gun for self defense, believe that the threat has all of a sudden changed and increased dramatically; compared to when they didn't have a gun.(?)
Answer: Do they? There is an underlying assumption in that question that is way too general.
You do attempt to qualify it by saying...
You hear the conversations going on about needing a 15+ round magazine to protect themselves. They speak of having a .223 for home protection. Again, they didn't have these issues before having a gun.
Comment: Yes, they did. They just didn't have the gun.
Now that they have a gun, a 6 shot revolver all of a sudden isn't good enough. They have to have a 15+ round glock. Why? (That's a rhetorical question, there really is no answer).
So is it that people who don't own a gun "YET", are naive???
Answer: Some people can't own a gun. In any case, I am not prepared to generalize about other peoples naivete or lack of it.
Is it that they don't see the world as threatening? Are only people who own gun, enlightened?
Answers: These questions appear to be rhetorical. You make the assumption that gun ownership is enlightenment. I own a lot of firearms and - can only speak for myself (imagine that) - never considered that the responsibility of said ownership meant that I was more enlightened than someone else.
OR, is it that people, once they become avid gun owners, think they are Rambo or start exaggerating the threat of their world. They start believing that Die-Hard, Lethal Weapon, Red-Dawn are "Real" possibilities instead of Hollywood?
Answers: Two questions. You need to change "is it that people" to "is it that some people". For "some" "avid" (I think "fervid" might better describe them), the answers are yes to both.
I say AVID gun users, because there are a group of gun owners who have a gun, bought it for whatever reason, and almost never use it. The gun is in their dresser or closet. There's also the other small percentage who bought a gun after a crime against them was committed. But for the average gun owner who visits forums and such, it appears more that they think the potential threat is greater than it was before they owned a gun.
Comment: You are stating, in effect, that most people ("the average gun owner who visits forums") that post on various fora view threats as greater after they have acquired a firearm.
I don't get that impression at all from my read of the average poster.
Personally, I don't believe the threat has changed. I also understand that the gun is just a tool. No gun has ever saved a person. Just like no gun has ever killed a person. It's the person with the gun that decides what happens next.
"But I really believe that there are a lot of gun owners who throw out normal common sense and rely on the gun to save their life instead of themselves. "
Comment: "a lot" ......what does that mean? 10%? 50% 80%. Two out of five? There are some people like that, I'm sure, maybe a lot, depending on your definition of the term.
And as such, they will continue to try and make the role that the gun plays to be more important. Higher cap magazines, faster reloading, different ammo, manufacturer preferences, etc... The truth is, if they realized that it is they, and not the gun, that determines if there is a threat again them, they'd realize that a 6 shot revolver, 7 shot semi-auto, $300 vs $1200 gun, etc... are all more than enough. Instead, some people are just so pessimistic and believe that if they haven't found a way to conceal a weapon that can hold 50 rounds, and shoot as fast as legal, that there is still work to be done.
Comment: No questions there.
Obviously, we're not talking about those who shoot for sport, hunting, plinking, fun, etc.... I'm speaking of those who have a hard-on about personal/self/home defense.
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