How many of you have guns? Why do you have one?

No, do not have any in my home!

Don’t get me started on how I feel about gun ownership, but here’s a hint: I’m moving to Canada! We both are.

I own a Remington 1100 shotgun and a Ruger 10/22. I used to hunt a lot, until I met my S/O. Now I use them for skeet and target practice. I’m respectful of them and handle them carefully. I live in an area with a lot of wildlife, some of which could be rabid. I’ve had a few cases of that over the years.

I myself do not possess a firearm, but then I’m English. We’re a more civilised folk don’t you know XD However there are times when I wish I had one….bastard jehovas witnesses :¬(

We live out in the country. Everyone has them. Where I grew up we had a school rifle team. We took our guns to school – on the bus – even kept them in our lockers. Seems incredible today.

The standard birthday gift for a 12 year old boy or girl was a Marlin Model 39. (.22 rifle).
Still have it.

@ucme We don’t get many Jehovah’s witnesses ‘round these parts, dagnabbit!

nope, dont own one. From Blighty so fortunately we’re not allowed them.

@worriedguy – So do you have a gun because everyone does? I don’t mean to be disrespectful, I’m just trying to understand why people feel the need to have them.

We have guns for hunting and recreational shooting.

@Seelix I don’t know if I would go out and buy one if I didn’t own any right now. I bought them when I hunted and just kept them when I didn’t. I don’t consider them a defensive weapon, but then I live in a low crime area.

Yes,I do,because bullets come out the end! ;)

I have no guns, and will not have them in my house. I don’t want anyone in my family to die of a gunshot wound.

Oh, those kind of guns . . . I was all excited to answer this question since I have been working out . . . damn!

@Seelix I should have answered why. OK let’s see, how have I used them recently…
I used my Remington 1100 shotgun with shells loaded with Malathion pesticide to get rid of tent caterpillars high up in my apple trees. I used the shotgun again loaded with #8 shot.(small <1 mm) to clean out a drainpipe. I carry my LCP (handgun) when I am in the woods alone. When there was a bear was in the neighborhood, I carried the LCP or 9mm when going outside at night or early morning.
I used a target rifle to stop a squirrel from going into a screech owl nest box.
I use the Marlin to scare deer away from the bird feeders. I don’t shoot them -just the tree nearby. I used the Marlin to get rid of squirrels that were consistently nesting in my barn and doing incredible damage to equipment.
To feed the animals I threw out several heads of cabbage and butternut squash and shot them with #4 shot (~2mm) to blow them up and scatter the pieces.
They are like handy power tools.

@worriedguy #4s for squirrels? That’s a little harsh.

@worriedguy – Thanks for elaborating :)

@Adirondackwannabe No. The #4 is for the vegetables. It blows them up and spreads the leaves and chunks around the orchard. If the food is in one spot the animals swap spit and spread disease.
For squirrels I use Remington .22 Sub sonic hollow points or CCI segmented subsonics.
Then the fox and or coyote can eat them.

@Seelix
Oh, I forgot, one of the favorite pastimes many years ago was to shoot rats at the town dump. Of course that has been stopped.
We have a party at my place every July 4th where we shoot in my back field. It is a great chance for people to try it. I save plastic bottles and jugs, fill them with water and use them as targets. Or we use vegetables – potatoes and tomatoes are always fun. It is a good chance for some people to exercise and practice with something they have not touched in years or try a unit they were considering for purchase.
Everyone has a “blast.”
Mark your calendar. ;-)

I too am from Blighty and I have a Weihrauch HW97k air rifle for shooting rabbits.
I have been advised to apply for my shotgun and firearms certificates due to my fathers ill health so I can take ownership of his Miroku shotgun and his .22 rifle.

@Seelix It’s also fun to blow stuff up with a little higher power rifle than a standard 22. A 22 magnum will peel a soda can full of water wide open or ice works as well. Fruit and veggies are also fun. A really hot cartridge, like a 223 or 22–250 is amazing.

Not yet, but soon. I want one because going to the shooting range is fun. It’s like an orgasm without having to meet someone and get to know them and stumble through the first few awkward times… It’s a great way to work through issues. When someone is bugging me and I just can’t seem to let it go, 15 minutes at the shooting range will have me all fixed up.

I shot a gun at a shooting range in Austin. Fun.

My girlfriend just received an antique pistol from her Dad. We’re going to go out and shoot it. She lives in the States. I am a Canuck.

No interest in having one for myself.

depending on a person’s exposure to life and all its possibilities most good, a few bad, there is always the very real possibility that we all can and may come into contact with a very bad person(s). They are out there. All it takes is just one of them, out of thousands to ruin your life. This is a fact, not paranoia, it happens. There is a certain empowerment that one gets if not temporarily, such as in their own home or vehicle or anywhere , that they get to have a vote in that outcome that may determine how they live for the rest of their lives. It’s not easy, I am told, to be forced to take a life but it is sometimes necessary. For those who are content to wait on 911 to help them, or even a god to step in just in time, well sometimes that actually works but I prefer to cast my vote.

We recently moved to a farm with over 200 acres that is right off a major state route. My husband’s boss is going to give him a gun as soon as he gets his FOID card. We learned that meth is a major problem in the area, and there is a lot of expensive farm equipment out here. We’d feel much safer if we had something to protect ourselves. Who knows what could happen while we were waiting for the authorities to get out here if we ever needed them. It’s not like they are just down the street. We’re pretty much on our own out here.

Our children will not know we have the gun once he does bring it home.

In America we have the right to keep and bear arms. Unlike Canada, armed self-defense is not considered inappropriate by the government. We also have a Fifth Amendment, unlike Canada. The right to keep and bear arms is a liberty and a freedom in the Second Amendment in our Constitution. It doesn’t mean you are obligated to keep or bear arms. But if you decide to, for whatever personal reason, you can. Some people keep them for hunting and protection or sport shooting. Some people keep them strictly for protection. Others like myself, love to target practice and skeet shoot. Some people keep them as collectors.

I kept a handgun with me for years after having been put on a witness protection list when I was threatened by a murderer who is still serving a life sentence. I was a journalist covering his trial. My job required me to be out late at night and I lived in the country and was home most nights by myself when my husband worked out of town.

I don“t own…..I’ve used a C6,C7,C7A1,C3A1, and a .50 cal (all military issue) but I do own a High Powered water gun…..

Witness protection . . . . what better place to hide than Fluther!

@Kayak8 I have to be notified if his status as an inmate changes, like if he is released or would escape. It is the Victim/Witness Notification Program.

I am descended from generations of hunters and raised with a healthy respect for guns. I have a fireproof arms safe in my basement containing 12 guns. Some heirlooms, mostly rifles, one shotgun and 2 pistols given to me by my father since I am single and live alone. It would have to be a cooperative burglar however who would give me time to open the safe.

I love target shooting and save old CDs to string from wire hangers for practice on the range.

@Blueroses I like that cd idea. I also fill a gallon milk jug with water, freeze it, and then make the ice chips fly.

I wanna gun, then I could do this, with impunity no less. XD

@Adirondackwannabe Great idea! I am totally going to do that.

As Fluther’s resident “gun nut,” I have probably more guns than anyone else on here.

Hell, I’ll even show them to you.

Why do I own them? Well, for a lot of reasons.

Contrary to popular belief, I do not own them because I’m training to be an evil baby killing extremist, and as inanimate hunks of metal and wood, they do not put out a mystical aura that makes me want to shoot up elementary schools.

I am a huge history buff. In fact, I’m majoring in history. A lot of my guns are historical firearms and to me, they serve as one of the most tangible links to the lives of people in the past. Long after photographs fade, and uniforms have been eaten by moths, guns that were around for all of our human conflicts will still be functional. Take my Steyr M95, for instance. It was manufactured in 1896 in the Austria-Hungarian Empire, rechambered for a different cartridge sometime in the ‘30s, and then pressed into service in WWII and marked with Nazi Germany proofmarks. After the war, it was covered in cosmoline, stashed away in a warehouse, and eventually made its way into my collection where it serves as a functional testament to how the world has changed in the past 110 or so years.

Another reason I own guns is because they are really a lot of fun. There is a great deal of skill involved in shooting a firearm effectively. It isn’t like the movies where you can simply spray lead onto a target and expect to hit it. You have to take into account your own breathing, your own reaction to the recoil, the distance to your target, etc. Marksmanship is a skill that requires a great deal of practice to master, and it is extremely satisfying to see a tightly grouped circle of holes in a paper target that you put there from 300 yards away. That’s why I own (more than one) AR-15s please excuse the mess. No, it isn’t a “machine gun” even though it is based off of the US Military’s M-16 series of rifles. This is probably my second favorite gun because of the huge array of accessories available for it… It’s like a Lego set for adults. It is also extremely accurate and an absolute pleasure to shoot at ranges from 50 to 300 yards. And you know what? It’s never been used to hurt anyone.

The third reason I own guns is for self-defense purposes, which I take a very pragmatic view on. A lot of folks on Fluther may scoff at the idea of using a gun for self-defense and would probably cite all kinds of sources saying that I’m more likely to get killed by my own gun, or I won’t ever need it, etc. The truth is, I know my self-defense weapons inside and out, I know how to use them effectively and properly, I know the laws about self defense, and if anyone were to ever threaten my life in my home (which does happen), I believe it is perfectly excusable to respond in a way that most efficiently and effectively protects my own life, as well as the lives of my family. There are bad people in the world who will kill you just to take your television. It’s a fact of life and it’s happened before. Until society fundamentally changes to where these types of people no longer exist (because of socioeconomic factors, lack of education, etc.) then it is perfectly reasonable to stop (not necessarily “kill”) them if they threaten my life.

So yeah, that’s it in a nutshell for me. If you have any specific questions, I’d love to address them.

Guns aren’t legal here but if they were I would probably want to own at least one, for just the reasons given above by @Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard

As it is, while I don’t own a gun, we do have a few other weapons around the house. There are two bows (my partner and I both did archery at college), and an assortment of swords: a pair of poor quality Spanish rapiers, an Indian broadsword that’s at least 60 years old, and a replica 15th century English longsword. That one was custom made for me and it’s the one I would pick up in a fight.

I own four: two rifles, a shotgun, and a handgun. I might get one more rifle, and another handgun for my partner. I am a (new) hunter, a survivalist, and a radical green anarchist who writes. Therefore, I have them for hunting and protection. I’m applying for my concealed carry permit (slightly ironic) primarily because I’m concerned about militant vegans who’ve been threatening and attacking people I’m affiliated with.

Also, I’m scared of robots and zombies, the former more than the latter.

My family owns three or four rifles, two semiautomatic and one manual. We keep them locked up in a cabinet in my basement; I don’t know where the key is. My dad is a member of the NRA and went through a period of interest in target shooting. I don’t think those guns have been touched in years, except a while ago when I used one as a prop in a photo shoot I was doing (unloaded, of course!). We live in a very safe area, so we don’t feel we need to keep a handgun or anything in the house as protection from burglars or anything. Until a few years ago we didn’t even lock our doors.

I think I’d like to get back into target shooting sometime, I remember having a lot of fun with it when I was younger.

@bkcunningham – Thanks for your pedantic answer. What does the Fifth Amendment have to do with anything?

No, we don’t.

As an aside, a week ago Thursday a young man, only 25 years old, was accidentally shot with a handgun. I knew him a little. He used to come to our shop because he was friends with one of our mechanics. Among other things, we sold ATV’s and buggies. One year he asked if he could take one of our floor buggies to prom (he was in HS then.) “We said Sure.

Then one Saturday, the following summer we took him and and his friend (our mechanic) and their girlfriends out to the lake in our “New” (circa 1968) boat. We taught him to water ski! :) After a long day of sun, swimming and water skiing we tired, and Rick was quietly boating around the lake as the sun was setting. Seth and his girlfriend were in the bow of the boat, arms around each other. As we motored into the warm, reddish-golden setting sun Seth turned to us and quietly said, “Rick, thank you for this moment.” That’s the last I saw him, but I’ll never forget that moment.

He died last Saturday on December 11th, 2010 from the accident. His obituary, written by his parents, I’m sure, read, “His precious heart stopped beating at 9:43 a.m.”

I guess I just wonder….how many people would be alive today if they “had a gun?” that they were WILLING to use, vs how many people are dead today because they had a gun?

@Seelix I’ll answer in my pedantic manner. The 1995 Canadian Firearms Act (C-68) not only prohibits compact handguns and all handguns in .32 or .25 caliber, but it broadened the police powers of “search and seizure” and allowed the police to enter homes without search warrants, to “inspect” gun storage and look for unregistered guns.

In this case, our Fifth Amendment prevents individuals from being deprived of life, liberty, or property without “due process of law.”

All right, well, I don’t want to get into the politics of it, or why the United States is cooler than Canada. I even said so in my question. I just wanted to know who had a gun and why. So if this is going to turn into an argument about gun laws, I’m just going to ignore those answers.

@Seelix You asked a perfectly reasonable question. I hope some of the answers helped you understand one way or the other.
Can you see why this is a political hot button in the US?
Sheesh! It’s hotter than abortion or religion. ;-)

@Seelix I also think it was a perfectly reasonable and interesting question with very interesting answers. I didn’t craft my answer to be political or to make the US seem “cooler” than Canada. I just attempted to provide facts to the question you asked me.

I don’t have one, but neither am I apposed to responsible gun ownership. As my Canadian Uncle once said: “the only reason to have a gun is to protect yourself from other people with guns”. I am not sure if that is really the only reason, but it did stick with me. I have girlfriends who carry concealed, and if I ever felt the need, I would probably do the same. I have been in a few frightening situations, where it may have been nice, just to have that extra security. Now I am a little older and wiser, and I just avoid those big-city areas that I know are dangerous.

“As my Canadian Uncle once said: “the only reason to have a gun is to protect yourself from other people with guns”. I am not sure if that is really the only reason, but it did stick with me.”

That’s definitely a VERY good reason. If it weren’t for that fact, my self defense weapons would all be machetes and crossbows.

I think that Steve Lee sums up my reasons for owning guns more that even I could in my big long thesis a few posts up.

And before anyone says he’s a scary American… He’s Australian and that video was filmed mostly in Australia.

@incendiary_dan Yeah, a good reason, but I think if someone broke into my home, that would also be a good reason, and I don’t have any machetes or crossbows.

I have shotguns for hunting and home defense. I have one old mauser I bought from an antique shop.

We don’t have guns, and I don’t see a need for us to own them. My husband and I don’t hunt or enjoy target practice. A gun would be an impractical home defense mechanism since we have three children and would need to keep the unloaded gun locked up with the ammunition locked up somewhere else. Anything else would be unsafe with children, IMO. An intruder would have more than enough time to kill us all before we’d wake up, unlock the gun, unlock the ammo, load the gun, etc. The risk of owning a gun would not be outweighed by the possible benefits for us.

I don’t have a problem with someone owning guns if they are responsible with them. Everyone I know who has guns is respectful and careful. My dad is an avid gun collector and taught my brother and me how to shoot when we were kids. He also mistook me for a vandal once and ran after me with a shotgun. Another time he mistook me and my friend for muskrats when we were skinny dipping at night and almost took a shot at us before common sense kicked in and he walked down to the pond to investigate. So maybe he isn’t a good example.

Yes, I own a Remington 1100 Shotgun, and a 9mm Beretta 92FS. I have both of them for home protection.
@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard Nice collection. :)

@Only138, thank you. I’m adding a Martini-Henry, a Tokarev TT-33, and a Rock Island 1911 for Christmas too! :-D

Hunting, defense/self defense, target practice

And since I’m in/going to be in the military I guess you could say to train to kill as well.

I have several rifles I use for target shooting…. when I get time at the weekends.. It’s not often I get down to the range these days but when I do, I find it the best way for me to wind down & relax…. I should make more time but “that’s life” :-/
I also own a pistol which I also use for target shooting…....

For those who have guns for “home protection”—I wonder how many people really live in fear of a serial killer breaking into their home?

@Dutchess_III I’ve already stated I do have a legitimate concern for my safety, and I am actually a target. But more importantly, read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man

@incendiary_dan If I knew I was a target that would be a different story. But the truth is, our kids are just as likely to get abducted walking to school by a random pedophile as we are to be the victim of a break in by a murderer. That minute possibility doesn’t stop us from letting our kids walk to school, but we feel we need to have a gun in the house in the event of the other, just as minute, possibility?

Hey…I don’t really care if people want to own guns. I like shooting guns. I like marksmanship. But let’s get real. MOST people who own guns have them because they feel cool, not because they seriously think they’re going to need one for self defense. If your neighborhood is that scary then move, and don’t let your kids walk to school until you do.

@Dutchess_III – Seelix did say that she didn’t want to get into the politics of guns but you couldn’t resist getting your self righteous head on could you?

Well, OK. If I had a gun, I’d have one because it’s cool.

(But not as cool as my O5 Durango Limited Egg McMuffin warmer!!!)

@Dutchess_III what you said makes no sense. A gun is a good way to protect your home. Cops don’t show up while the crime is being commited they show up afterwards. Another thing. You are not as safe as you would like to believe. Doesn’t have to be a serial killer. A person robbing you could try to kill. A rapist could try to kill you as well as rape you. A person who hates you with a passion may attack you. Do you think the cops are waiting at every door just in case. They won’t get there in time to stop an attacker for killing you. Is it that hard to understand?

@Dutchess_III I’d like to see how safe you’d feel on a 200+ acre farm that has been a target of theft in the past. The police don’t arrive within minutes out here. I’m not afraid of serial killers, but theft and crime are a possibility. When we lived in a suburb with police located near by, we didn’t worry about having protection in our home. Living in the country is a completely different situation.

@Dutchess_III What’s really at issue now is that you didn’t tell just your own story, but rather patronizingly deigned to tell others’ stories for them. Don’t presume to know other peoples’ motivations. It’s a great disrespect in assuming you can peg someone’s thoughts and feelings based on stereotypes.

P.S. I’m at least as scared of the cops as the people they’re supposedly protecting me from.

@Dutchess_III, I’m not afraid. I’m realistic.

Bad shit happens. Like I said before, there are people who will kill/rape you for shits and giggles or just because they want your TV. To say that these people don’t exist or aren’t a real threat to anyone’s safety is naive and childish. Why should I deprive myself of the ability to defend myself against them? It’s not paranoia. It’s pragmatism. You don’t have to have an actual organized group of crazies after you, like @incendiary_dan does to be a target. Haven’t you heard about innocent people who are randomly attacked all the time with no rhyme or reason? I refuse to be a part of that statistic, and there is nothing wrong or “paranoid” about that.

Also, I don’t own guns because I “think they make me cool.” The whole Freudian “guns are a penis extension” argument is extremely tired anyway. I think that in themselves, guns are cool, as I said before, but I don’t think they put off any mystical waves that make me a more interesting or sexier person. Sure, there probably are people out there who do think like that, but who cares?

This rather recent event supports my claims.

Anyway, I’m really afraid we’ve scared @Seelix off.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard – Pretty much. I’ve gotten the answers I asked for; some of you have said you like to collect, some like to shoot targets or skeet, some feel the need for protection. That’s all I was looking for. If the discussion continues, that’s fine. I’m not getting into the politics of it – personally, I’m not cool with guns, so I wanted to get into the minds of those who are.

I honestly don’t mean this facetiously. I am truly glad that some people live in a world of security and I don’t begrudge them their sense of well-being. I don’t live in a “bad” neighborhood, I’m much like many of you; educated, semi-affluent upbringing, fairly sheltered and yet I found myself and fearful after my psycho ex left me for dead one night and was disappointed he didn’t finish the job.

Yeah. I kept the .22 very handy for quite a while.

I know we aren’t supposed to get too serious here but I wanted to illustrate that bad things don’t only happen in the parts of town that are hidden or ignored.

Just a thought: very few people consider it stupid to get health insurance even if they don’t expect to get serious diseases or have horrific accidents. We don’t question that. I basically refused to get it until now and won’t keep it after I move out of MA, but I understand why people would decide to get it. Given that, and the fact that overall firearms are usually cheaper (it’s mostly a big initial investment, and often times not even a big one, and then occasional cost of ammo; my Ruger cost $150 and the ammo is three cents a shot), how can someone really describe as paranoid someone who chooses to own a defense weapon to protect their safety, on the off-chance that something bad happens?

Another thought: @Dutchess_III rightly talked about the dangers of firearms (even if they are exaggerated), yet we in this culture don’t talk the same way about the dangers of automobiles, which claim more lives, are far more dangerous as weapons (being often multi-ton masses of metal and plastic filled with explosives), are more likely to have operation problems (and operation problems for guns usually just mean no boom), and are a lot harder to control (not to mention facilitating extractive economies that undermine traditional communities). Also, we let inexperienced and hormonal teenagers drive them. We’ve basically modeled our lives around these infernal machines, and not on self- and community-sufficiency (including taking care of our own safety and defense), so it ends up being a huge blindspot.

I almost didn’t post these thoughts, but they DO have to do with why I own guns, as well as how we conduct conversations about them as a culture.

I’d like to add to my initial post that a big part of my reason for being armed in general is political. I oppose the state’s monopoly on violence, and understand that an armed populace is one component to guard against (even more) authoritarian governments.

@incendiary_dan, I completely agree with you of course, but I’m going to play Devil’s Advocate here and bring up something that will probably inevitably be brought up by an anti anyway.

You compare cars to guns, but cars are heavily regulated and you need a license to operate them! We should do the same for guns!

What more regulation of guns could really happen and really be effective at the same time? Effective here means the regs ONLY stop the bad guys WITHOUT messing with the honest people who are not inclined to be dangerous. Can’t be done. Not as long as there is high demand, and there always will be, and the black market. A $150.00 HI-POINT pistol can go for over 1K on the street. Most honest people have responsibilities, bills, putting kids through school. They would never be able to scrape up the cash to arm themselves. BUT…. the rank and file criminal who are thick with big cash can get as many guns as they want because it is their stock in trade, just a cost of doing business. The power vacuum created by excessive restrictive gun laws would leave polite society at the mercy of the gangs, and the govt. That would be unfair.
We can, if we have enough money get a car that will go 200 miles an hour. WTF? Since they are perfectly safe as long as speed limits are adhered to we shouldn’t need to regulate them. But if someone loses control of one at full speed some people are going to die. Just because the sign reads 70 doesn’t mean we are automatically safe. Life aint fool proof.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard your comment reminded me of many other times I’ve heard the rational of treating guns like cars. Back when Al Gore was running for POTUS, he said if elected he would fight for a federal law requiring every state issue photo licenses for handgun purchasers.

Anyway, here’s a column I remembered reading in response to your devil’s advocate position. It is worth reading.

http://reason.com/archives/1999/11/01/taking-it-to-the-streets

@bkcunningham, the problem with that article is that handgun ownership and concealed carry has pretty much been vindicated since 1999, when it was written. More and more states have allowed for concealed carry and gun laws have been continually liberalizing. (See: DC vs. Heller and McDonald vs. Chicago) and gun crime has been continuing to drop (FBI statistics).

I see the point the author is trying to make, but he makes a pretty serious mistake when he equates Gore’s would-be mandatory licensing (which would only restrict gun owners) with Concealed Carry licensing (which is optional, and allows you to use your gun more than restricting its use).

Oops, forgot to answer this. I do that once in a while.

One major difference in terms of application is that cars tend to kill without anyone specifically meaning to use it as a weapon, whereas firearms rarely do. You kind of specifically need to point and pull a trigger, and while this can happen from somebody not following safety procedures, it generally doesn’t. Basically, it’s very easy to accidentally kill with a car, kind of hard to kill someone with a gun without meaning to shoot them.

Mainly we have to ask, what good would it do? It’s not like after a shooting people exchange serial numbers for their rifles or handguns. There have been attempts using forensics to match bullets and casings to specific firearms, but it’s not exact and those parts can be easily changed. Barrels can be modified or swapped, as can firing pins. I remember hearing about companies trying to put tiny imprints of the serial numbers on the head of the firing pin, so that it would mark the primer cap; it would only take a bit of scratching or a pin replacement to muck that up, and the head tended to deform quickly and make it illegible anyway.

As @woodcutter pointed out, restrictions and bannings tend to create a black market for firearms, in general actually making it easier for criminals to get their hands on firearms while penalizing the average citizen. This has happened with the bans on many hard drugs, in which we see that the War on Poor People of Color…I mean, DRUGS… has made heroin very easy to get for suburban teens.

A big reason guns are more prone to black market activity when banned is that they’re relatively easy to make with a few tools. I’ve learned to build a few in my time, and while I think I currently lack the proper tools and mechanical aptitude to make anything beyond a single shot weapon, I can see how with a small investment and some practice it isn’t difficult for criminals and hobbyists alike to make them. So basically, registering, restricting, and banning can ultimately do nothing to curb violent crime, and indeed statistics like the ones we see above show the relationship is inverse.