Sabrewolfe
New member
45_auto said:Do you also wear a helmet in your car?
About 10,000 Americans die every year from traumatic brain injuries received in automobile crashes, which is coincidentally the same amount that are killed by firearm violence (suicides account for the other 20,000 annual firearm deaths in the US).
The vast majority of firearm violence is crime-on-crime. If your lifestyle does not involve drugs or other criminal activities, then the probability of you needing a gun in your home is very small. Of course, the chances of winning one of the big lotteries is also very small, yet someone wins them almost every week!
If you don't have a risky life style and have taken suitable precautions to minimize all of the more likely causes of death and injury in your life (IE, traumatic brain injury from auto accidents), then I would say that if you carry a gun in your home that you're just extremely more cautious than the majority of US citizens.
On the other hand, if you're preparing for the extremely low-probability situations (home invasions, invaders from outer space, vampires and werewolves, etc) while ignoring higher-probability situations, then there is a good chance that compared to the average US citizen you will be classified as strange or paranoid.
No, I don't wear a helmet.
I DO however, take other, more practical precautions while driving. I drive defensively, obey the speed limits (I even drive under in adverse weather ), keep my headlights on day and night, maintain separation from other vehicles, and allow extra time so that I am not rushed. I make sure that my car is maintained in good running order and check the fluids, tires (including the spare), and lights regularly. I keep a bottle jack, flares, jumper cables, some tools, and extra fluids in the trunk. I have yet to need any of them (for myself, that is), but I still consider myself prudent, not paranoid.
As far as gun violence, statistics do say most of it is criminal on criminal. That doesn't mean that there isn't a lot of crime against the folks that do obey the law. I also don't presume that a criminal with a gun is the only kind I might need a weapon to defend myself or others from. A knife is just a dangerous in close quarters as a firearm. And there are more than a few corpses that can attest to the deadliness of mere fists and feet. Is it likely that I will ever need the gun on my hip? No, it's not (knock on wood). But if I ever do, I will not have to be a helpless victim.
Does that make me more cautious than most people. Sadly, yes. Yes it does.