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Should every family own a gun?
dailycaller.com ^ | 24 April, 2012 | Lisa Bedford

Posted on 04/25/2012 5:21:47 AM PDT by marktwain

Anti-gun rhetoric has been a fact of my life as long as I can remember. As a new mom, I even tried keeping toy guns out of the house, because I had bought into some of the myths surrounding gun ownership, such as:

1) Accidental gun deaths are bound to happen with a gun in the house.

2) A gun-free home will keep kids safe from guns.

3) If kids play with toy guns, they will grow up to be violent.

All of those are nonsense, of course, but as a mom, all I wanted was for my children to be safe. My husband wasn’t exactly on board, and I knew that. As a lifetime member of the NRA, he has always been vocal in his support of the Second Amendment and our right to own firearms, if we choose.

I suppose I could continue to tiptoe around the issue of firearms, but I am convinced that every survival minded family must own at least one gun, train their children in gun safety as well as in shooting skills, and that a firearm should be part of their preparedness plan.

It’s shocking to read comments from non-preppers and a few preppers, alike, that part of their survival plan is to take by force the food and supplies they need from people who have prepared. If you are putting time, effort, and money into supplies that will help your family survive future crises, then you absolutely must include firearms as a layer in personal and home safety.

Which should you choose? My #1 choice for overall home protection is the shotgun. Either a 12-gauge or the slightly smaller 20-gauge are excellent choices. Although practice with this firearm is vital, shot placement isn’t as critical as with handguns. I’ll be posting an article on my blog this week listing the reasons I believe the shotgun is the “Queen of Home Defense”.

What about handguns? They’re an excellent choice as well. Their main advantage is that they can be concealed, not providing any hint that you are lethally armed unless or until it becomes absolutely necessary. In a shootout, law enforcement officers miss their target some 70% of the time, and they’ve had plenty of training and practice. Firing and missing when it’s your family under attack isn’t a pleasant thought, so ongoing training and practice is absolutely necessary.

One more myth I would like to debunk is that of, “The Bad Guy.” It’s a fact that bad guys have buddies. One critical reason to own a firearm is that a single person has very little chance of survival when faced with multiple “bad guys”, intent on harm, and very possibly armed themselves.

There’s no reason to put your life and those of your loved ones in harms way because you want to be politically correct. Being smart beats politically correct every time.

Lisa runs a great blog for preppers and you can find it right here! ~Mike P. Guns & Gear Editor


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: banglist; gun; prepper; survival
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To: jboot
I have two garands...I would love some fully auto M-14s but not in my state...and not a the price of fully auto weapons anyway.

I love the garand...but it is too friggin big(especially for my age).

Hey...instead of the french 9mm, how about a mac 10(or a thompson or a grease gun) in 45acp....now thats a pistol caliber.

anyway here is my standard garand vs AR picture


21 posted on 04/25/2012 6:30:17 AM PDT by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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To: jboot

1. Select fire weapons are worthless to the individual. It just wastes ammo. You only use it in large-scale operations for suppressive fire.

2. If I can find ammo, I can probably find the weapon that goes with it.

3. 7.62x39 is much cheaper than .223. I can store more of it with me in that SHTF situation. And you can’t beat the Russian spam can.

4. The 7.62x54R is very cheap and the Mosin-Nagant rifle is easy to find and inexpensive. Good deer rifle.

5. Saiga 12 - 12 gauge AK :)


22 posted on 04/25/2012 6:34:35 AM PDT by Azeem (There are four boxes to be used in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury and ammo.)
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To: ctdonath2
Heh. Check your calendar and then check the news. This ain't your father's USA anymore.

1. So what? When the SHTF, there will be no rules. No one held it against the Frenchman who took an MP-40 from the Nazi that he killed with an antique revolver. Same scenario.

2. Obtainng a Class-III license and getting a registered selective-auto weapon is A: beyond most people's financial means and B: a great way to attract all the wrong kind of attewntion to yourself, even before the SHTF.

3. In a SHTF scenario those people will be looking to capture or kill you, whether you steal from them or not. It won't be an even fight, I'll admit. But having the right gun is just one component of a larger strategy.

4. Modern low-intensity conflicts and insurgencies are fought with automatic weapons. Those without automatic weapons die. Ammo supply is the whole reason I recommend the 5.56. Of course no one can stockpile enough ammo for the long haul. But 5.56 can be picked up on the field.

5 & 6: See point 4.

23 posted on 04/25/2012 6:35:46 AM PDT by jboot
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To: marktwain

No, every household shouldn’t have a firearm; some are hoplophobes, some are incompetent, some are criminal. But EVERY law-abiding citizen should have the option of owning firearms and carrying them for personal protection.


24 posted on 04/25/2012 6:37:46 AM PDT by Little Ray (FOR the best Conservative in the Primary; AGAINST Obama in the General.)
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To: marktwain

Not every family should have a gun. In fact the loons a quarter mile down the road (my next door neighbors) are a good part of the reason I bought my new bride a S&W .38 and a shotgun.

In all seriousness, a (near) fully armed society is the best protection of freedom. Nearly as good is the widespread knowledge that we are all armed, paying attention and not stupid.


25 posted on 04/25/2012 6:39:54 AM PDT by muir_redwoods (I like Obamacare because Granny signed the will and I need the cash)
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To: Azeem

That is my next purchase, an AK.


26 posted on 04/25/2012 6:42:38 AM PDT by Sybeck1 (If Romney needs my vote to win Mississippi, he is in a heck of a lot trouble more than me.)
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To: marktwain

Unless you have a family member who is not stable or trustworthy around firearms. Goes along with responsible gun ownership. That should be the family’s call and not Eric Holder’s.


27 posted on 04/25/2012 6:51:22 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: ctdonath2; All

You can *hope* your opposition has select fire and believes in suppressive fire. As long as they are not the government supplied by ammunition plants, they will run through their ammo supply very quickly. It takes tremendous discipline to conserve ammo with a full auto during combat.


28 posted on 04/25/2012 7:14:19 AM PDT by marktwain
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To: Vaquero

“I’d prefer the reliability of Mr Kalashikoffs piston driven AK than Mr Stoners direct impingement jammer”

Ignorant comment. Just how many people do you think have been killed by M16/M4s in the last 50 years? Hundreds of thousands? Millions? Properly maintained a DI AR-15 is extremely reliable. When you factor in accuracy and availability of 5.56 ammo the AR-15 becomes a valid, possibly better, choice.


29 posted on 04/25/2012 7:20:01 AM PDT by MtBaldy (If Obama is the answer, it must have been a really stupid question)
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To: MrB

“That’s like standing at a crosswalk and someone in a Pacer motions you across...

“no, you go ahead, you’ve already proven you’re a poor decision maker””

I have the same reaction when I see an Obama 08/2012 bumper sticker on a car. Give the proven stupid a wide berth.


30 posted on 04/25/2012 7:22:08 AM PDT by MtBaldy (If Obama is the answer, it must have been a really stupid question)
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To: marktwain

If the USSC upholds that we are slaves then the Republicans should immediately require every family to own a firearm, and SUV (for the chiiiilren), and a Bible.


31 posted on 04/25/2012 7:25:58 AM PDT by CodeToad
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To: MtBaldy

yours is not a scientific sampling.

but using your logic...how many have been killed by AK 47s
lots more the ARs, to be sure...
you can buy more AK surplus ammo and cheaper from the former soviet union.

...anyway, for long range accuracy I will take an M-14 or for real accuracy a bolt action....for close in work, I will take the reliability and better caliber of an AK 47(note: not an AK 74...which is another poodle shooter)

hey nobody is saying you shouldn’t enjoy your poodle shooter...thats why its great to live in a country where we can.


32 posted on 04/25/2012 7:27:04 AM PDT by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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To: marktwain

No, not everyone should own a gun.
Anyone who wants to own a gun should own one, and those who don’t want to own a gun can be content in being victims of the criminal part of society.


33 posted on 04/25/2012 7:29:17 AM PDT by BuffaloJack (End Obama's War On Freedom.)
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To: BuffaloJack; All

Those who do not own guns in American society benefit greatly from those who do.

A free society has to tolerate a number of free riders for many situations. It goes with the territory.


34 posted on 04/25/2012 7:35:31 AM PDT by marktwain
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To: Vaquero
lol. If I couldn't handle a Garand (and I fear that day is coming), I'd get a Springfield M1A SOCOM. Guess I better start pinching those nickles and dimes.

We dropped crates of Thompsons and Grease Guns to the French during the war. They used them until the ammo ran out. The only Allied weapon that was common with the Resistance was the Sten, because the Resistance could make them and they could fire German ammo.

Full auto ownership isn't practical for civilians anyway. It's way too expensive and attracts too much attention. I'm not advocating it. But in the event of SHTF those actively engaged without automatic weapons will die. This is the consistant lesson of Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya and Somalia, et al. Anyone concerned about SHTF needs to plan for this. Like I said, it's just food for thought.

35 posted on 04/25/2012 7:36:17 AM PDT by jboot
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To: Azeem
All your points are valid. Here are some comments:

1. When SHTF, individual actors will die regardless of what they are armed with. Teamwork and organization are keys to survival. Within that paradigm, large-scale operations are not out of scope.

2. True, but with the exception of 5.56 not in quantity.

3. Cheap yes. Endless no. SHTF will require a constant supply of ammo, magazines and spare parts.

4. Love the Mosins. The M44 would be my first and only choice for a wilderness survival rifle. But in a SHTF scenario Mosins will have limited utility.

5. Sounds like fun!

36 posted on 04/25/2012 7:50:09 AM PDT by jboot
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To: marktwain
but as a mom, all I wanted was for my children to be safe.

And there's the problem, right there.

Safety is not an end in itself, it's a means to an end ... thinking otherwise (or worse, thinking that safety in an absolute sense is even achievable) continues to be the road to seemingly endless mischief.

Mrs. Bedford seems to have gotten her head straight on this matter.

37 posted on 04/25/2012 7:51:07 AM PDT by ArrogantBustard (Western Civilization is Aborting, Buggering, and Contracepting itself out of existence.)
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To: marktwain
Should every family own a gun?

Just ONE!!???

38 posted on 04/25/2012 7:54:39 AM PDT by DustyMoment (Congress - Another name for white collar criminals!!)
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To: Sooth2222

“NO, convicted felons” ....should own guns.”

Really? Why not?


39 posted on 04/25/2012 7:57:04 AM PDT by saleman (!!!!)
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To: marktwain
I remember a line from the movie “We Were Soldiers”, where the senior non-com, played by Sam Elliot, is asked why he didn't have an M-16. His reply? “When the time comes that I need one, there will be plenty of them on the ground.”

Cool line, and very true on a battlefield with engagements between company sized forces, but I would feel better with an AR or AK before hostilities begin.

40 posted on 04/25/2012 8:13:32 AM PDT by Sergio (An object at rest cannot be stopped! - The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight)
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