Legitimate reasons to own guns

“If hunting were still a necessity in this day and age, I'd actually be inclined to agree on this point. But seeing how it isn't, I'm not. Nowadays, hunting is nothing more than a sport, even if the entirity of the animal is used for some purpose post-death (meat to make stew, hide to make clothes, etc.).” Hunting, in some parts of the country, is still a necessity in this day in age. There is still a small subset of subsistence hunters/farmers that live in areas such as Alaska and Montana. To take guns away from these people would force them to abandon their humble way of life (1,2,3). This also brings up yet another legitimate reason to own a gun. If you live in states where bear populations are large and or dense, you could own a handgun for protection if you are outside, and attacked by a bear. “In Japan, the only type of gun a civilian can own is a shotgun and only for the purpose of hunting. Because of this, their gun crime rate is very, very low, but not perfect. On occasion, someone will use their shotgun to murder, so I must say the banning of hunting would only improve the society's safety and well-being even more.” Switzerland Is armed to the teeth (4), but they have virtually no gun crime (5). This argument can be skewed either way. In addition, people are on-occasion murdered with forks, according to your argument we should ban those too, despite their utility (6). “If you're hungry, go to Wal-Mart. If you're just sadistic and like shooting creatures, hop on Call of Duty. It's not worth the risk of allowing citizens to own hunting rifles (or pistols or shotguns) when the owners could use them against their fellow humans.” Would you like to prove that hunting is sadistic? Hunting is still a valid sport, and you are simply making an appeal to pathos in an effort to sway voters. “This point is little different than the hunting one, just this one is even easier to refute. Yes, target shooting may be fun (and some may find hunting fun), but that outlet of entertainment can and should be sacraficed for the purpose of protecting citizens' safties, the lives of whom should supercede the enjoyment one can get out of punching a hole in a paper target or wild animal.” According to this argument, little league baseball should be banned because bats can be used to murder people. Target shooting is a valid reason to own a gun, as it is both a legal sport, and it is reasonable, both from a practicing for self defense standpoint, and from the simply for fun standpoint. “I'm all for the private ownership of a thing that looks like a gun but cannot possibly fire a bullet for the sake of collecting, but not of a gun itself.” How many murders have you heard of that were committed with American War era-rifles? Or how about that civil war rifle shooting spree? Rifles that are valuable enough to actually be an investment are usually antique rifles that are now simply pieces of history that pose no more danger to someone that a modern BB gun. “There are plenty of other things one can use to protect their own home; mace; tasers; an alarm system (who would continue rummaging through drawers for jewelery when there is a siren going off in their ears?).” This one is easy to refute. Any hopped-up drug addict could continue to threaten you and your property with a siren blaring in their ear. The Face eater in Miami was only on marijuana, If he came into your house, completely incapable of reason, would you not want a pistol to kill him with, because mace and a taser is not going to stop him (7). “If the one trying to rob your home has a gun, then there is little chance you could get to your own in time to use it as a defense. If one is using proper gun safety, it will be locked away somewhere and, one way or another, unable to fire immedeatly (either the trigger is locked, the gun is not loaded, etc.). If, however, one is the type to constantly have his/her gun on person at all times, loaded and ready to fire, then he/she is paranoid enough to ought to be denied a gun.” There are several options for gun safes that offer quick retrieval of a firearm in an emergency (8,9). And if the gun is in a locked gun safe, why not keep loaded magazines next to it? Then you can retrieve your gun and kill an intruder, and guarantee your families safety when the gun safe is locked tight. “ If the one trying to rob your home does not have a gun, then there is no need for you to have one either. Most robberies occur for the purpose of taking your electronics or other valuables, not to inflict harm upon the homeowner. And you shouldn't be allowed to open fire on a person for trying to take your TV unless the damage avoided is greater than the damage dealt (which, in that case, it certainly wouldn't be).” It is not necessarily the property that is the biggest liability. They are in your house and they could still rape your wife and beat your children. In addition, how do you know they are unarmed? They could have a gun tucked into their waistband, ready to shoot you when you try to stop them unarmed. In closing, I have proven that there are legitimate reasons to own guns. Con must now prove that there is beyond a doubt, absolutely no reasons to own a gun. Over to you con. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org...(2012_TV_series) http://en.wikipedia.org...; (used by Subsistence Hunters) http://en.wikipedia.org...; (Economy partially depends on hunting) http://en.wikipedia.org... http://www.snopes.com... http://www.wdtn.com... http://www.huffingtonpost.com... http://www.factory-express.com... http://www.overstock.com...