Is it time to get a firearm?

[SnoopRob]

If roving bands of armed MAGA decide to descend on your home, 1-2 guns wielded by a single person will do little to dissuade them. Yeah, you might be able to take a few with you before they get you, but they're also going to kill you (and probably everyone in your home) once you've made it an armed conflict.

At best, you might be able to scare them off temporarily, but you'll also make yourself an on-going target and they'll likely get you eventually.

It's essentially the same calculus as thinking that you can personally own weapons that will stop the government from "treading" on you. Once you're outnumbered (and almost certainly outgunned), the weapons you own are going to do little to actually protect you.

 

[1moretimeagain]

I guess if I got one it would locked up in my attic And that would do me zero good if someone was breaking into my house?

If you’re in the attic looking for your gun, the marauders might assume you’re not home and just leave.

 

[heel79]

By the time I was in my mid teens I understood I would never again
1. Drive a motorcycle
2. Mess around with firearms
3. Get high on anything other than Alcohol or unadulterated pot

My dad told me when I was 12 two things I would never do and live in his house. Ride a motorcycle and smoke cigarettes. I never did either. He wishes he had made a longer list. Hell I do too.

 

[WaynetheDrain]

Don’t get a gun and give the NRA what they want. An aluminum baseball bat will work fine.

 

[akillesheel]

every person who buys a firearm is consenting to being responsible for the death of a human being.

 

[UNCatTech]

Don’t get a gun and give the NRA what they want. An aluminum baseball bat will work fine.

 

[UNCatTech]

In all seriousness, after what happened to my wife yesterday, I'm considering getting her training. I already own guns, though they have not been shot in years. But there are other variables, it's not as simple as owning or carrying a gun.

 

[StrangePackage]

Are you really that dumb?

 

[dukeman92]

If roving bands of armed MAGA decide to descend on your home, 1-2 guns wielded by a single person will do little to dissuade them. Yeah, you might be able to take a few with you before they get you, but they're also going to kill you (and probably everyone in your home) once you've made it an armed conflict.

At best, you might be able to scare them off temporarily, but you'll also make yourself an on-going target and they'll likely get you eventually.

It's essentially the same calculus as thinking that you can personally own weapons that will stop the government from "treading" on you. Once you're outnumbered (and almost certainly outgunned), the weapons you own are going to do little to actually protect you.

This. Especially when the gov’ment can just circle your house with a drone.

Honestly, there is little to no reason to own a gun in 2025. You want to hunt? Fine. No problem. Keep your guns at a registered hunting club and sign them in and out when you go hunting.

 

[superrific]

If roving bands of armed MAGA decide to descend on your home, 1-2 guns wielded by a single person will do little to dissuade them. Yeah, you might be able to take a few with you before they get you, but they're also going to kill you (and probably everyone in your home) once you've made it an armed conflict.

This. What is a gun going to do for you?

If you want to prepare, put a remote controlled gatling gun on your roof. Or a howitzer. Or invest in a bazooka. Install flamethrowers where your sprinklers are. Etc.

 

[UNCMSinLS]

I've often said, "If I'm facing down the barrel of one or more guns, is this a world I really want to live in?"

 

[ChapelHillSooner]

If roving bands of armed MAGA decide to descend on your home, 1-2 guns wielded by a single person will do little to dissuade them. Yeah, you might be able to take a few with you before they get you, but they're also going to kill you (and probably everyone in your home) once you've made it an armed conflict.

At best, you might be able to scare them off temporarily, but you'll also make yourself an on-going target and they'll likely get you eventually.

It's essentially the same calculus as thinking that you can personally own weapons that will stop the government from "treading" on you. Once you're outnumbered (and almost certainly outgunned), the weapons you own are going to do little to actually protect you.

I of course don't know how various scenarios would play out.

One thing I am concerned about is Trump either explicitly giving permission to people or saying things in a way that they believe he is doing so.

My goal would simply be to make myself and my family a harder target. I agree that most of these people aren't as brave as they like to pretend so showing even a bit of resistance (warning shot) would likely be enough to ward them off.

I also don't envision that such as situation is sustainable as they're not going to have state law on their side. So I don't see them coming back to target me if something were to happen.

I would only act if the situation were such that I either act or my family is dead.

Maybe I am paranoid but the talk that happened immediately after the Kirk shooting rattled me. There are plenty of people who want me dead for no other reason than I have different views they they have and because they are brainwashed into believing everyone who has different views are a threat to them. (Note that unlike them I am not stereotyping all MAGA as being in this group. I am merely saying that there are people who are in it.)

 

[Turd Ferguson]

I'm just going to set traps like Kevin did in Home Alone.

 

[superrific]

Maybe I am paranoid but the talk that happened immediately after the Kirk shooting rattled me. There are plenty of people who want me dead for no other reason than I have different views they they have and because they are brainwashed into believing everyone who has different views are a threat to them. (Note that unlike them I am not stereotyping all MAGA as being in this group. I am merely saying that there are people who are in it.)

With all due respect, this is how the right-wingers behave. Something spooks them a bit and they react by going out and buying guns.

I don't think you will be able to make yourself a harder target. During the pandemic, I saw a convoy of lunatics in my area (at the recycling center!) with assault rifles, camo, ammo belts, the works. They probably have Kevlar vests too. Those are the people who would be in those armed gangs, and there's no way you can match them. They live and breathe this stuff, and you do not.

In my view, it would be like buying $300 sneakers for a one-on-one game with RJ Davis. It ain't gonna matter, you know? You'll do better with the better shoes but I have my doubts you'd be competitive in either scenario.

 

[MOUNTAINH33L]

Don’t get a gun and give the NRA what they want. An aluminum baseball bat will work fine.

Don't forget to put a tube sock on it!

 

[ChapelHillSooner]

Are you going to practice with it regularly? As in weekly?

Will you clean the gun after each practice session?

Are you 100% certain you will be able to shoot a person or people?

If you’re answering no to any of those questions, you likely shouldn’t get a gun.

I would not practice weekly. I am not training to be a Navy SEAL. When (if) I get it I will practice enough to be confident in my abilities to use it. I would never use it in a situation where an errant shot could harm an innocent civilian without having some incredibly bad luck.

I would learn to clean it and do so every time I took it out. Just like I clean my paint gun every time I use it. I imagine cleaning a firearm is easier than cleaning a paint gun after spraying oil based paint.

In a life or death sitation I could absolutely shoot someone. And as I've made it really clear, I am perfectly willing to put myself at risk so as not to ever accidentally harm an innocent person. The bar to get and use the weapon would be extremely high.

One reason I want to do it is because the discrepancy among armed conservatives and armed liberals is so high. I almost feel like it is my obligation in these unsettling times to do my part to rectify that. (And, yes, I know that that somewhat contradicts my intended use.)

 

[ChapelHillSooner]

My dad told me when I was 12 two things I would never do and live in his house. Ride a motorcycle and smoke cigarettes. I never did either. He wishes he had made a longer list. Hell I do too.

Off topic but those were off limits for me too.

And my parents smoked up until I was about 14. They begged me never to smoke and I am so glad they did. It helped seeing their struggle to quit.

 

[gregh1]

is it time for those of use who do not have firearms and are generally opposed to having them in our houses to consider about getting one?

I think it is. The talk about going door to door and rounding up Democrats and the talk of civil war from the side that had all of the political power is concerning and must be taken seriously. The right seems primed to be whipped up in a furry.

I am not talking about fighting the government or stupid nonsense like that. That is just silly and suicidal. I am more worried about bands of MAGA taking things in their own hand - possibly after being given permission or a promise of pardons from the president all because of some manufactured threat. (If you don’t think they can find reason to justify almost anything then you haven’t been paying attention. There is no objective reality anymore.)

If I do get a gun, it will remained locked up in my attic. I will get as good of a lock as possible.

Finally for those of you who know about guns, what would you suggest?

I think first we'll see lone-wolf violence, instead of organized.
But IF it gets organized it isn't going to be bands of local, angry maga, but instead previously organized hate groups like Proudboys or white-nationalist groups, maybe not doing things right in their backyard and neighborhoods, but instead targeted at non-residential.

Like people say above, they don't know if you have a gun, but also they don't know who you voted for in the past or might vote for in the future unless you have rainbow pride flags out front.

Sadly, black & brown groups are going to have more concerns before white people IMO, partly due to non-political hatred, then especially since MAGA/white-nationalists assume all black people vote Dem.

 

[eternalheel]

If roving bands of armed MAGA decide to descend on your home, 1-2 guns wielded by a single person will do little to dissuade them. Yeah, you might be able to take a few with you before they get you, but they're also going to kill you (and probably everyone in your home) once you've made it an armed conflict.

At best, you might be able to scare them off temporarily, but you'll also make yourself an on-going target and they'll likely get you eventually.

It's essentially the same calculus as thinking that you can personally own weapons that will stop the government from "treading" on you. Once you're outnumbered (and almost certainly outgunned), the weapons you own are going to do little to actually protect you.

You'd better be able to physically handle a dpsht white supremacist before relying on a gun.

 

[heelinhell]

is it time for those of use who do not have firearms and are generally opposed to having them in our houses to consider about getting one?

I think it is. The talk about going door to door and rounding up Democrats and the talk of civil war from the side that had all of the political power is concerning and must be taken seriously. The right seems primed to be whipped up in a furry.

I am not talking about fighting the government or stupid nonsense like that. That is just silly and suicidal. I am more worried about bands of MAGA taking things in their own hand - possibly after being given permission or a promise of pardons from the president all because of some manufactured threat. (If you don’t think they can find reason to justify almost anything then you haven’t been paying attention. There is no objective reality anymore.)

If I do get a gun, it will remained locked up in my attic. I will get as good of a lock as possible.

Finally for those of you who know about guns, what would you suggest?

If you are worried about bands of MAGAs roaming your neighborhood to take things in their own hands, owning a gun is not the answer to protect your family.

Just fly a Trump and Confederate flag in your front yard...sort of like marking your house with the blood of a sacrificial lamb so that the MAGAs will pass over your family during the final plague that will ravage the country we loved.