Major Biggles, with all due respect to your views, I think you can't see the forest for the trees. I consider the defense of my family and life a proper use of a firearm.
If you consider the U.K.'s gun laws to be "just right" that is well and good. But if gang crime in your country continues to worsen, what are the elderly to do? Stay at home and never venture forth without a bodyguard?
I'm 53 years old. If confronted by a knife-wielding punk I would have a very hard time outrunning him. True, I could give him what he wanted, but what if he wants my life? Suppose he and some of his wolfish brethren kick in my door late one night. Loading and using a long-gun in the dark is difficult at best. If I used a gun to kill one of them, would your court system think my actions were justified?
Major, I deal with these punks every working day. My place of employment is a juvenile detention center where we handle the worst kids in the state. I've gained quite a bit of insight into what makes them tick: Drugs, glorified violence, illicit sex, money. But their revelling in violence is the most troubling, whether of not they have a gun available or not. They are thrill-seekers, and they tend to seek a bigger and bigger thrill with each week that passes, steadily ratcheting up their violence and other activities.
Within the last two years, some of our parolees have committed three murders and an untold number of felony assaults. They enjoy it. Two of these murders were committed with a gun, but the most brutal was committed with a pair of scissors, against a woman from my home town. Hardened police officers of my acquaintance were deeply shaken by what they saw when they arrived on the scene.
None of the victims was armed, for they were law-abiding citizens. Three decent, worthwhile citizens had their lives snuffed out by thrill-seeking animals: a father, a mother, and a 76 year old grandfather who was slain because he had no money. One of those murders was planned by one of our inmates while he was in our custody, and he would have carried it out if he had had to use a baseball bat.
Most of our young inmates are not that hard-core, but enough are to give one pause.
From some of the posts by your fellow Brits in this thread, I gather that gang violence is worsening in your country. If you are comfortable with the current laws of your country regulating the use of firearms for self-defence then more power to you. Deal with that problem as you see fit.
But if one of these predators shows up on my front doorstep unnanounced I will answer the door with a gun in my hand.
Do I live in fear? Not in so many words. I live a normal life, as do most Americans. I don't live in an inner city where much of this sort of gang violence takes place. There are still a lot of Mayberry's in this country.
I just prefer that my options not be limited.
Regards, Shuckins
