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It's not just television media that contributes to this, but also just the people around you. For example, many people I know who are firearm hobbyists seem to spend a lot of time thinking about the possibility of armed intruders. When enough of them are together, they get themselves really worked up about an extremely rare event that none of them have actually experienced.

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... while completely ignoring the more likely event that the "intruder" ends up being a cop who shots you when you have something that even looks like a weapon.

I usually say it's far safer in the current US to not have a gun.

If the police will shoot you for simply possessing a firearm...do we really have the right to bare arms?

I guess we have the right to store an unloaded firearm in a gun safe.

> do we really have the right to bare arms?

No. It's why I wear only full sleeve shirts.

My wife has revoked my right to bare toes when going out to eat. It's just the right thing to do for civilization.

You’ve got the right but they’ve got something better: qualified immunity.

Way back when my mother mentioned the most common intruder is going to be your daughters boyfriend. Or your drunk neighbor.

That depends a lot on your zipcode

No, most of these people are just itching to shoot somebody. I no longer share my firearms hobby with others after finding this to be true time and time again.

Could you briefly expand? Do you mean they want to be found in a position where they can be justified to shoot?

It's a fantasy many have, yes. It's an almost desperate yearning for some.

There's a lot of overlap with the survivalist/militia types. These people "plan" (such as their limited, stunted mental faculties permit) for apocalyptic scenarios and the destruction of our government. Many even view themselves in the role of a redeemer--they'll form the nucleus of the new society that will develop. And so on. There's just a whole strain of lunacy in this area.

You can argue against someone's beliefs without using such unnecessary appeals against someone's "stunted mental faculty".

These people are cognitively impaired on a deep level. There's no argument against their beliefs, because their beliefs are a word salad of conspiracy theories and absolutely insane fantasy. Many of them should be in mental health facilities for treatment.

> Do you mean they want to be found in a position where they can be justified to shoot?

Yeah, you pretty much nailed it. Except, "justified" is even a bit of a stretch. It's more of a "justified in their own mind" and not exactly per the law, and then thinking that they're so high, mighty, and personable that they'll be able to win over a judge/jury with their reasoning.

I'm honestly not trying to exaggerate, it's pretty fucking scary and unsettling. Gun nuts will tell you some fucked up shit if you physically look like what they think to be a "good" person.

The only slight restoration in faith I've had in a few years was upon meeting a dude with well over 200 guns, including two .50 cals, an exceptionally beefy .458 SOCOM build, a few transferable machine guns, and over 250,000 rounds of assorted calibers of ammunition (that was all that was in his immediately visible storage)

I was with a buddy (no longer friends with because they're batshit insane) who is incredibly gung-ho about personal carry, everywhere he goes, including where it's posted to be illegal (banks, hospitals, etc) who wanted to know what the dude enjoyed to carry. Dude fairly quickly explained that he's never felt the need to carry and doesn't even have his CCW, and asked why my buddy felt the need to carry where we live (there is absolutely zero reason within a 30mile+ radius, unless you're perhaps a farmer with large livestock that could knock you down - but that's not even really CCW-esque, as you're on your property)

My buddy was quite visibly miffed by his response. At a later time the dude and I were together, he mentioned he never really talks about his guns because of the amount of crazy mofos in the hobby, and that he got the idea my buddy was one of them (he was)

Now, how exactly did we meet and see all of his guns he typically doesn't show people?

Sewing. We were all also sewing hobbyists, with multiple fairly large machines. His large garage/second house on his property is where all of his sewing/guns/woodworking equipment goes, that he typically doesn't bring people to unless they're coming for sewing or woodworking. And so, in the end, why all these guns you may wonder? I obviously don't know the intricacies of his mind as I do mine, but we're both mechanical engineers (and I a hobby machinist), and there's something very much to enjoy about guns from that perspective. Just as there is in sewing, woodworking, and machining. But goddamn do the crazies (which seem to be the norm now) ruin the gun hobby.

Wow - this is a powerful account of why you don't judge a character given the mere choice of hobby. Equally inspiring to hear of enriched private lives; thanks for sharing.

I wouldn’t say that it is most people. But yes I have met gun lovers who dream of becoming a “hero” by shooting somebody/anybody for whatever reason. They obviously have serious mental issues. They usually tried to get in the military but were rejected.

To be fair I had the same fantasy. When I was 11.

I know a firearm owner who’s immediate family has experienced two incidents of violent armed robbery. Yes, that did shape their worldview. While I get the vibe your poking at, some are very justified in their caution and desire to be prepared for the worst even if the worst is admittedly very unlikely to happen.

Were those incidents of street robbery, or armed home invasion?

I can't find the source now but I remember hearing that the number of gund deaths by homicide is lower than by suicide.

So if you are worried about someone dangerous coming into your house with a gun.. You should be most worried about yourself.

"It is better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war."

Alternatively, I wear a seatbelt despite never having been in a car accident.

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