I realized Hubby and I really have no plan for what to do if someone breaks in and don't really have anything to grab to protect ourselves. I don't think we are comfortable owning a gun but then part of me wants to. What do you have for protection? Do you feel safer with it?
A deranged mutt that looks like a Dingo. I seriously dare someone to walk up in this piece.
absolutely nothing.
this is such a weird concept for me - i would never even think to have anything for protection.
if i were to hear someone had broken in (which is pretty rare over here) then I would just stay in my bedroom and let them steal things, and go to the police when they left.
this being said, guns are just not a part of british culture. i have only ever seen one gun in my entire life and that was at an airport earlier this year. weirdest thing ever.
ETA: just putting it out there, but I also don't have a knife block. the thought that someone could pick up something in my own home and use it as a weapon against me is something i'm not comfortable with.
@Miss Jackrabbit: Ya, same here.
I have a phone to dial 911 with. That seems to be enough. If I lived somewhere where I felt that I was at risk of being broken into, I would find somewhere else to live. Living in fear is no way to live.
(And I say this as someone whose apartment HAS been broken into, though while I was not home. It's just stuff, and I can always get more of it. FI would say I already have too much of it. LOL)
Yeah, I'd have to say a second floor apartment and a cell phone?
Dh is a police officer, but keeps his gun locked up at the office. Our safe storage laws wouldnt make it much use anyway.
Do you live in a neighborhood where there are frequent break ins?
To defend myself, I have myself.
I'll go against the grain here and say that I do have a gun. A couple actually, but only one that stays loaded.
For the record, it's easy to say that if you are living in an unsafe neighborhood then find somewhere else to live. The reality is that is simply not possible for a large number of people. When you are barely making ends meet in a $300 apartment in a crappy neighborhood then the extra $100+ per month to move to a better neighorhood (plus the cost of moving) might as well be a million dollars. Some people just don't have it.
@SapphireSun: That is true.
From my understanding, even if you shoot at an intreuder with a registered firearm, you can still get charged.
In terms of saftey, all we have is our phone. There is nothing else we can really do but rely on police.
@Sugaree: I lived for about seven years in a "bad" neighborhood in Philly. Statistically it was one of the worst zip codes in the city. Nothing ever happened -- no harrassment, no break ins, nothing. So living in a bad area doesn't necessarily mean that it will be dangerous.
I wonder about gun ownership versus the statistics on crime in a neighborhood.
I don't have anything - but then, my understanding is that most burglaries over here only take place when a house is empty. It's easier for the burglar that way - less chance of getting interrupted, can take your time to scout out what you want. It's pretty common over here for would-be burglars to knock on the door first to see if anyone's in before they try anything, and then if they hear anyone inside they scarper.
I live in a city that has frequent break in's (but we live in a very wealthy beautiful neighborhood - jackpot city for robberies). And Christmas night there were four gun shots outside of our bedroom window.
I have never wanted to own a gun, but my husband has been all about it. I fought him tooth and nail up until about a year ago, and now we have one. I have to admit that when those gun shots rang on Christmas night, I was VERY happy to have that gun next to us.
We have a tiny dog but I'd like to eventually get a larger one so I would feel a little more comfortable in the house by myself.
*Also, I'd like to say that it would be enough to just let someone break into my house and steal my stuff while I stay locked in my bedroom calling 911. But if someone is breaking into your house while you're obviously there? They're most likely not only coming to steal your stuff, but to most likely harm you.
@tranquility: Yeah, from what I understand some states have "Castle doctrine"/"stand your ground" laws that are applied much more liberally than our self defence laws.
Personally, I just don't hear about stranger home invasions (of people that aren't involved in the criminal element themselves) often enough to warrant any extraordinary measures. Most thieves want to commit a break and enter when the occupants aren't home, and will leave quickly if they discover otherwise. Just a quick and lazy grab whatever's valuable and portable, and to me it's not worth confronting or otherwise endangering myself to save my DVD player, so I'd probably just stay in my room and call 911.
I'm not comfortable having guns in the house, and realistically if they're going to be nearby and you have easy access to them in case of an emergency, they're probably not safely locked up. This makes me especially nervous now that we're having a child - we live in a safe neighborhood and statistic-wise, I'd say it's probably more likely someone would be accidentaly injured/killed with it than us needing it to defend ourselves.
I guess I'd lock myself in the bathroom and call 911, but honestly I'm not going to spend too much time worrying about it. There are so many what-ifs in live, you can become totally paranoid and live your life in fear, or you can take basic precautions like locking doors, wearing seatbelts, etc., to minimize danger in your life and then not worry about it too much.
I live in a big city, so I have a small thing of mace attached to my key ring (a "just in case" thing that I've never had to use.). It's intended for protection being outside, but I could easily grab it in the event of an intruder. I would never consider purchasing a gun.
I have nothing! I'd like to think that I can turn into a mean fighting machine if I was ever in that position.
when I was 20 my sisters and I came home to find someone had broken into my parents car...... And he was still in it..... I ran inside while my sisters cornered him in the car and I grabbed a broom handle, whacked him a few times, and we finally let him go. Hahaha.
i live in a pretty safe area though now, I used to live in one of the worst areas of the city and I still never contemplated a gun, but in Canada it's stricter to get one Anyway, which I'm glad. I wouldn't feel as threatened of someone breaking into my home as I would if I knew all my neighbours had guns or people freely walking around the streets with guns.
I wouldn't say I live in an unsafe neighborhood, but the city I live in, itself alone, has a high crime rate. I keep mase on me at all times, live with my FI, who has two guns, the big, shotgun kind, not loaded, because it makes me nervous, but the bullets are close-by. Although I've never shot it, every time he goes away, he asks me if I remember how he taught me to load it, and I do.
I also have a pit bull. He's the sweetest thing in the entire world, and likely wouldn't do any damage to any intruder (although, my pug would try to rip 'em to shreds, because he's fearless), but he LOOKS tough, so that makes me feel safer. And who knows, he could very well defend his momma!
The guns make me feel the safest though, just holding one of those giant things should be enough to scare away some thug.
@tranquility: It depends on your state (my state has the castle law).
We have several guns, loaded, in our house at all times. We never plan on having children, so that isn't a concern of mine. We live in a very safe neighborhood, and the guns are heirlooms that my FI's father passed on to him. I feel that gun safety/knowledge is essential if you plan on keeping firearms in the house. However, if someone tried to break into my house to harm me, I'd have no problem shooting them dead.
I have a house in a nice neighborhood? We do have a 90 lb dog that appears scary but would be of no use if anything ever happened. We also have a phone right by the bed to dial 911.
Nothing. It's not something that I ever think about because, as PPs have said, break ins here tend to happen when people are out (which really shows a tiny bit more intelligence on the part of the burglars, really) and firearms (if you are one of the few people who owns them) must be kept locked away and unloaded.
I don't live in an area where I feel unsafe, but even in "unsafe" areas I've never felt the need to constantly carry anything to protect myself other than a rape alarm I got from work.
@housebee: just out of curiosity, at what point would you shoot them??
i would never have a gun in my house to begin with and if I did, I can't justify for myself killing someone just for breaking into my house.
At what point do you decide to shoot someone with your gun?
I lived in an upscale town in MD growing up, Senators/Congresmen and judges lived in our neighborhood. One of the judges came downstairs in the middle of the night to get a glass of water and found three people eating food out of her refrig, and had bags packed of things they were going to steal. They hit her, knocked her down and ran out to their waiting car. Police were there in less than 3 min, but didin't get the guys.
After that, I became more aware that things happen everywhere, "good" or "bad" nieghborhoods. My brother is a police officer, and HE has stressed that we should all take responsibilty for our own safety.
We have few guns that are loaded. It is imperative to take the safety classes. We live in a good safe place, but should anyone come in to our house, no problem shooting them.
I have a big 100 pound dog :)
I feel like we live in a safe neighborhood and safe little town in general though!
A doberman and some signs warning to beware of the dog. I figure that robbers will choose another house. You would be surprised at the number of men who are frightened by big dogs.
My husband has many guns, but they are all locked up.
I keep a baseball bat under my side of the bed. I feel more comfortable with that than a gun. The odds are still greater that your home will be broken into during the day when you're away, however.
We also have a security system and sensor lights that will come on-- so I feel pretty confident in that as well!
Two dogs, an attack cat and a high pitched scream.
Kidding. I am in the military and I don't even have a weapon in my own home. Weird. Sometimes it scares me when I am home alone. The FI and have gone to sporting stores twice to scope out whats available and would be good to use. Him and I are from the country so we were brought up around guns and understand their use and their dangers. I actually have a 12gage at my Dad's that I just keep forgetting to bring home.
Sadly, if I had my choice I would pick a m-16 type weapon only becuase of my military background...I have been handling them for ten years now and I know how to assemble and dissasemble them (in record time!). I know how it looks - a girl with an "assault" rifle - but at this day and age I am not sure I care. I think I would rather own one then be a news article. We just need to actually break down and spend the money and buy one now...
My Husband sends me stories like this all of the time to make me feel more comfortable with having a gun in the house:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/10/us/home-invasion-gun-rights/index.html
This was 1:00 in the afternoon, in a nice suburban neighborhood. She was on the phone with her husband who had 911 on the other line. Lord only knows what he would have done to her or her children had she not had that gun.
Sure, 911 can be a good option and should be exercised. But realistically, they're not going to get there for at least 5-10 minutes. And SO much can happen in that time.
edit: At the same time, I differ with my Husband in thinking that anyone who enters my home should be shot dead. I don't think someone who is breaking into my house purely to steal things deserves to die. Therefore, I'm not going out of my way to find the intruder with a gun unless he goes out of his way to find me (just like the situation above). Then I would take the necessary action to protect myself.
A 100lb dog a 25lb dog and about 5 different guns which are intended for hunting purposes only but would use it if need be. And let the gun debate begin....
@RockStar33: When I feel threatened, but I would first verbally warn that I'm armed (we have a sign that says owner is armed). If they chose to continue forcing entry in my house, they'd get shot. I have to note, I'm not one of those "every life needs to be saved" type person.
A Louisville Slugger that my husband keeps under the bed. I refuse to ever have a gun in my house and luckily, my DH agrees.
We have a few guns, but only one for self-defense (it's kept in a safe in our bedroom closet - not loaded, but with ammunition also in the safe). It's hidden and locked up, but easy (and quick) to access if you know the code and how to load it. I wasn't thrilled when DH got it, but it's important to him that I have protection if he's not home, and there's been a few things in connection with his job that makes me okay with having it.
Virginia does have a castle law, but calling 911 would be my first action. The gun would be backup in case I was in real danger. I wouldn't use it to stop a robbery, but I would if the intruder was a threat to me, not just my possessions.
we have a gun safe with at least ten guns in it (FI is a hunter). nobody better mess with us because i know my FI wouldn't even hesitate to aim at an intruder!
I think I'd be more inclined to try to escape/run away than to fight any intruder.
We had an attempted break in at our home (the garage) a few months ago, while we were at work. Luckily, our alarm system scared the burglar off before he could break all the way in and the police we notified immediately by the alarm company (ADT).
The next day we spent over $1,000 having new heavy-duty locks and deadbolts installed on all the doors. The locksmith who put the new locks in told me one of the best weapons to protect yourself with is a can of the 20-feet spray for wasps & hornets. It won't do permanent damage to a person but if you spray them in the face it gives you time to get away. He said mace doesn't works as well because you have to get too close to the person.
So, now we have cans of wasp & hornet spray, a baseball bat, home alarm system, and very good locks as our protection.
I own a gun(but honestly ive had it over a year, and have only taken it out of the case to show my dad) but FI has a few guns. we keep a few of them loaded in case of a break in... only problem is they are up so high i cant reach them so im screwed if im home alone...
My FI has a shotgun and I have a 9mm pistol. I am a competition shooter and hopefully I'll never be put in the situation of having to use my gun on a person, but I feel safer knowing that I have the option to defend myself (against another person with a gun). Typically if someone breaks into my house, just the sound of me cocking my gun will scare them off. I would never shoot someone if they weren't threatening mine or my FI's life...as in pointing a gun or firing at me. Obviously I'd call 911 first, but they can only get to me but so quickly.
Don't you think it's a little paranoid to feel that you have to have big guns/dogs/weapons in the house to protect yourself or is America really that much more violent than Europe?
I have two dogs that weigh in at about a hundred pounds each ;) They are Bouviers, and are both very protective of myself especially, and our house/my FI. Best of luck to anyone trying to break in!
ETA: I don't have these dogs because I'm worried about a break in... I have them because I love the breed! It just so happens that they are also a good deterrant to anyone wanting to step into the house uninvited.
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