Preparation, Not “Fear”
by Bill Taggart
People who are not “firearms enthusiasts” often react predictably when the notion of carrying a handgun enters the discussion. By now, I have engaged in enough of these discussions, both on-line and in the real world, that I pretty much know the various arguments and objections they will ultimately trot out, especially if they are at all anti-gun. One such predictable reaction is “what are you afraid of? I can’t imagine being so fearful all the time that you feel like you need to carry a gun. Why do you feel you need to have a gun all the time? Are you really that paranoid?” Or other words to that effect.
I like to keep some counter-arguments at the ready to educate such people and hopefully lift them out of their old, tired stereotypes of gun owners. When someone tosses out the old “you’re just a scared little boy who needs to carry a gun to make him feel better,” I engage in the following line of questioning:
“Do you own a car?”
“Yeah…”
“O.K - Do you have auto insurance?”
“Well of course.”
“O.K. Do you have comprehensive and collision, uninsured motorist and accidental death and dismemberment coverage?”
Typically the answer to all of these is either “yes” or “I’m not sure,” but they always have some sort of car insurance.
“Are you driving around afraid all the time that you’ll have an accident? Do you have a spare tire in the car?” Of course. “Why? Are you paranoid that you’ll get a flat tire? Why carry around all that extra weight? A spare tire takes up a lot of room in your trunk.”
“Well…”
“Right. Do you own a house? Do you have fire insurance? You do? Why? Are you really that afraid you’ll have a fire? Do you have a fire extinguisher in your kitchen?” At this point, a lot of people say no. I take the opportunity to say, “Well I do – and you should too. You know of course that most house fires start in the kitchen. Which would you rather have if a pot on the stove catches fire – a fire extinguisher, or the knowledge that your insurance will pay for a new house once this one burns down? If I have a fire extinguisher in my kitchen, is it because I’m ‘afraid’ that I’ll have a fire? Or is it just that I’d rather be prepared and have the right tool in case it happens?”
Owning a gun is not at all about being “fearful” or paranoid. It is about being prepared. If someone has fire insurance or a fire extinguisher, it’s not because he or she is afraid his or her house is going to burn down, it is so that he or she is prepared to deal with the (hopefully) unlikely event of a fire. You hope you never, ever have to use it, but you’re glad you have it in case you need it. Similarly, you hope to never have to use your spare tire, but it’s good to know you have it with you in case you get a flat tire. I then ask: “You would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it, right?”
There is only one answer to that question. Of course you would. So what’s their next argument? Usually it’s something like “Well, yeah, but, but, yeah, but, those things are different!”
“How?”
“Well…”
“Yes?”
“A handgun is only for killing a person!”
“What better tool to have when a person is trying to harm or kill you? If you have a fire, you need a fire exinguisher. If someone is attacking you, you need a weapon.”
“Well come on, how often does that really happen?”
“It happens all the time! Don’t you read the newspaper? How often has your house burned down? Why do you feel it necessary to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on fire insurance, car insurance, and life insurance when it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever need any of it? You’re spending all that money in the hopes that none of those awful things ever happen. But if they do, you’re hoping you’ve done what you can to be prepared to deal with them. Owning and even carrying a gun is the exact same philosophy. I don’t carry a gun because I’m ‘paranoid’ or walking around ‘afraid’ I’m going to be attacked all the time. But everyone knows that people do sometimes get attacked. I hope I never, ever have to use any of my guns in defense of my life or someone else’s life, but just like car insurance, a spare tire or a fire extinguisher, I’d rather have the gun and not need it than be in a situation where I wish I had one and didn’t have it. Because I would feel like a real idiot if I found myself in that kind of situation and did not have the tool that could save my life right at that moment. I would be sitting there, feeling completely stupid, knowing that my predicament was very easily preventable had I been prepared. I could have bought myself a fire extinguisher, or a spare tire, or a gun, learned how to use it, and been prepared for the worst case scenario, and if I were a responsible person, I would have done so. What do you do to be prepared for such things? Or do you just go around hoping nothing bad will happen? If that works with preventing criminal attack, then why not apply it to the rest of life? Cancel all your insurance!
I find this argument to be reasonably effective in getting an anti to at least begin to get an inkling of the philosophy of gun ownership. This tends to lead to the next discussion, in which I have to explain that it’s not about making you feel more “manly” or like a tough guy (you just know that’s where they’re going next, don’t you?) Carrying a gun should not give you a feeling of false bravado anymore than having a spare tire – or even a pocketknife – does. If it does, you’re dangerous and you need to stop carrying a gun. It simply is a matter of being prepared, not “fearful.”