I know that gun ownership is a hot button issue but I was just wondering how you all feel about nurses being gun owners. I recently acquired a very nice hunting rifle that was handed down from my dad. None of the boys wanted it so I jumped at it since I had many happy memories of hunting and target shooting with my dad. It is a stunningly Beautiful Henry Golden Boy in perfect condition. I have not gone shooting in almost 30 years so I took it to the range and familiarized myself again with all aspects of the gun and how to clean and store it with a range master.
Someone at work asked me what I had done that weekend and I said I went shooting. She arched her eyebrows and said something guns weren't very nurse-like.
This is not a handgun - but a family heirloom. I doubt I'll ever shoot it off the range but I may give it to my son when he is a grown man.
Depends on where you live I guess. I'm in a rural area and during November all the nurses at my clinical site were talking about the start of deer season and hunting.
I own firearms, fully support the 2nd Amendment. I live in the south where owning firearms is common. I have a CWP and carry as well. Many of the staff at the hospital also carry, male and female. I have taught my wife and daughters to shoot, they need to know how to defend themselves. The American people will always have their firearms. Here is the question I ask those who do not own firearms. What will you do when you hear your back door being kicked in at 3:00 AM? You suddenly realize two men are in your house. What will you do, call 911 and hope a good guy with a guy arrives in time to protect you? Would you rather have a phone in your hand or a firearm to protect your family with?
I own firearms, fully support the 2nd Amendment. I live in the south where owning firearms is common. I have a CWP and carry as well. Many of the staff at the hospital also carry, male and female. I have taught my wife and daughters to shoot, they need to know how to defend themselves. The American people will always have their firearms. Here is the question I ask those who do not own firearms. What will you do when you hear your back door being kicked in at 3:00 AM? You suddenly realize two men are in your house. What will you do, call 911 and hope a good guy with a guy arrives in time to protect you? Would you rather have a phone in your hand or a firearm to protect your family with?
Believe me, most of us who choose to live unarmed do so knowing and accepting the possible consequences. For myself, personally, in the 50+ years of my adult life living alone in some pretty dodgy neighborhoods, I've neither been assaulted nor burgled while in my home. Basing my choices on fear of eventualities that have yet to come to pass is not how I want to live.
My point is that people who live without guns are not automatically opposed to others owning guns. In many cases, our assessment of the risk/benefit ratio is simply different from yours. For me, there are also other, more private, factors at work that I prefer to keep to myself. I do not have to justify my choice to you. Nor do I demand you justify yours to me.
Besides the right to own guns - there are differences in motivation for owning a gun (which IMO have nothing to do with political identity).
For some people it is about the "sportmanship" - they just like to own some guns, take them to the range, practice their skills, and enjoy the challenge and talking to other people with the same "hobby".
For some people it is about "feeling safer" and they do not necessarily practice a lot or have a good control - they may but they may not - chances are , they are not gonna be an excellent marksman. For those folks I agree with the article above that "guns do not necessarily make your life safer"even though you may feel that way. It is a personal choice.
A lot of people seem motivated by "if everybody else owns a gun and the police response time is 15 minutes I want a gun as well".
There are people who keep guns primarily for hunting.
There are people who live rural and have a gun for self defense against all kind of "problems".
One problem I noticed at work is that when the gun owner becomes ill and develops dementia or confusion - a lot of family members voice concerns over that. When you have children in the house I think it is self-explanatory to have a gun safe and to take pre-cautions.
Owning a weapon per se has nothing to do with being a "good nurse" or a "bad nurse".
Personally, I never felt the need to obtain a gun for my personal safety and I am against concealed carrying on hospital property.
But it is more complicated that that.
I do not chose to own a gun because of a variety of considerations but I am not a victim type of some sorts. I have plenty of other things in my house I could use as a weapon if the need arises from knives to a heavy iron that used to lived under my bed to a baseball bat in my closet at the entrance....I know that some people feel that they will be able to protect themselves "better" with a gun - but that is not my preference. I am not afraid of guns, it is more of a personal choice not to own one. I have protected my life successfully in the past and the situations in which I had to intervene in some way where all not the scenario that is often thought about when obtaining a gun. For example riding in a public transportation when a situation developed with a guy who was drunk and aggressive. Or when I went to my car in the parking garage and somebody approached me. Or when my neighbor who was sort of "difficult" threatened my children. I had no problems with handling the situation and a gun would not have made my situation safer, better, or resulted in success. But I do have other skills to protect myself and feel much better that way because I do not have to rely on a weapon or rely on carrying.
I have taught both of my children basic skills in self-defense, de-escalation and the essence of street fighting (without a gun). I taught both of them safety awareness and simple things they need to know that makes life safer.
I did "hands on" training with them and taught them important skills (nobody got injured with the training....) and knowledge.
It has served them well and provided them with a sense of control, has helped both my kids and proven to work.
So anyhow - the "sense of safety' does not necessarily reflect the "reality of safety" and that applies to gun ownership as well.
Believe me, most of us who choose to live unarmed do so knowing and accepting the possible consequences. For myself, personally, in the 50+ years of my adult life living alone in some pretty dodgy neighborhoods, I've neither been assaulted nor burgled while in my home. Basing my choices on fear of eventualities that have yet to come to pass is not how I want to live.
My point is that people who live without guns are not automatically opposed to others owning guns. In many cases, our assessment of the risk/benefit ratio is simply different from yours. For me, there are also other, more private, factors at work that I prefer to keep to myself. I do not have to justify my choice to you. Nor do I demand you justify yours to me.
I own firearms, fully support the 2nd Amendment. I live in the south where owning firearms is common. I have a CWP and carry as well. Many of the staff at the hospital also carry, male and female. I have taught my wife and daughters to shoot, they need to know how to defend themselves. The American people will always have their firearms. Here is the question I ask those who do not own firearms. What will you do when you hear your back door being kicked in at 3:00 AM? You suddenly realize two men are in your house. What will you do, call 911 and hope a good guy with a guy arrives in time to protect you? Would you rather have a phone in your hand or a firearm to protect your family with?
The bigger question here would be: Why would 2 men kick in your backdoor at 3 am?????
It is not common occurrence IMO.
People who just want to steal stuff will not chose that kind of action and always go for the less dangerous thing and chose a place that is not occupied during the day and not kick in a door either.
This scenario is unlikely to happen to a normal person. Does it happen - yeah probably somewhere - but it is not daily occurrence in the US.
If you live in high crime cities/areas outside of the US, are engaged in crime yourself, gang activities and such - yes that will target you and will make your life much unsafer. But in that case owning guns will also only do so much.
I grew up with violence. People who are involved in any kind of crime or gang activity will always have a higher risk of getting injured or killed. It is something that happens because of their actions. But if you are a normal person, who lives a normal live - even though you may be low income or live in a less than ideal neighborhood - chances are you will never encounter your scenario simply because there is not much reason for 2 men to kick in your backdoor. And if that was to happen because they confuse your house or what not - if they are kicking in your backdoor - they have guns. And they are determined and will use them. The second they realize you have a gun or try to get your gun you become an instant object that is dangerous and you will be shot. Even if they came to let's say take you super expensive TV that they saw through the window or if they came to steal some jewelry. Chances are that if they came to steal stuff and you are unarmed and allow them to take the TV and what not - they will just take the stuff and run. Because that is what they came for in the first place.
Your scenario is not only unlikely to happen to a normal person not involved in criminal activities or rich in the US, also your desired outcome is unlikely and often more like a wishful thinking kind of thing that is not rooted in reality.
Guess what - in incidents with active shooters in healthcare settings there are examples of what is successful in ending scenarios like that before the police arrives. And it is usually older folks who just jump that person (no gun involved - the power of more than one person).
Or people who defend their store against armed robberies - ever seen those videos were people just grab a broom and jump over the counter? determination is key and not necessarily a gun.
However - despite my person attitude and preference - I am not against people owning a gun. I do not support carrying concealed on hospital property though.
I think that there is a lot of fear mongering going on.
All those examples given or strategies by marketers to sell safety systems target the "felt sense of safety" and not the reality (unless you live in a high crime place in the world - and I am not talking about a major US city - I am talking about Venezuela or El Salvador, South Africa ... or war countries).
Is there danger in the world ? yes of course. Could I be the victim of violence? Yes of course theoretically. But how likely it is depends on a variety of things and a lot can be prevented by applying common sense.
I live in a very safe neighborhood with little crime.
Despite that fact, some kind of telemarketers called me some while ago and tried to convince me to buy a "safety system". One day I decided to talk to that person because I was curious about their persistence (of course I know they want to sell something). So I told that person I am not interested in a safety system and not to call me again. He kept on pressing saying "do you know that there were so and so many crimes in your neighborhood" and when I told him that all of that would not change my opinion, the person kept on talking about what I would do if somebody was to enter my house in the middle of the night - the obvious goal was to make me anxious so I sign up for this security system that I do not need or want.
I told him that this marketing strategy to target women or elderly people with their calls and try to sell something in an obviously very low crime neighborhood was very questionable and the way he tried to undermine the sense of safety was very questionable as well.
There is a lot of playing with people's anxiety around their safety or their perceived safety.
I agree with the sentiments that our chosen profession has nothing to do with our hobbies at home.
That being said, I am a ED RN and firearms enthusiast living in a large metropolitan area in southern CA. There's a fairly decent following with the staff I work with. At least half of them are open about their ownership/acceptance of firearms. There's there's always the small amount who are against it overall, but the rest really seem indifferent where I am.
Personally, I'm more into it for the sport. While I do have my Concealed Carry Permit, really I just enjoy unwinding by punching holes in paper. To those who state we may be over rationalizing about perceived fears, I liken legally owning/carrying a firearm for personal protection to wearing seatbelts. I pray that I never need it for it's intended purpose. But I always find myself using it just in case.
You can wrap yourself up in the warm blanket of denial if you choose. Maybe you should turn on the news. Crime is increasing in America"The second they realize you have a gun or try to get your gun you become an instant object that is dangerous and you will be shot. Even if they came to let's say take you super expensive TV that they saw through the window or if they came to steal some jewelry."
These comments speak volumes of your knowledge of responsible firearm ownership. I'm a Veteran and know how to handle myself. If it comes down to it I would have no problem killing someone treading on me. I have a friend who was raped, another who was robbed and severely beaten. I will not allow this to happen to my family or myself. You clearly have no training in self-defense. Will it take a serious incident before you realize you don't have to be a victim.
The meth epidemic is real, hard core crime is real, the failing judicial system is real. I sleep much better knowing I can defend my family if needed.
Bottom line: You are either the victim or the aggressor. Keep that denial blanket close.
I don't turn on the news ...."If it bleeds it leads." There can be a tragedy in a city, area, 100's of miles from where you live. "Family found dead, young children, from gun shot wounds" will be the news lead in news. Horrible tragic story, yes. Five days later it does it not even make the news that one or some family members were knows drug dealers. It was drug retaliation. Tragic, yes, likely to happen to you no. Unless you are a drug dealer?
I never took or understood critical thinking, but if that is an example of it I am all for teaching more of it!
You can wrap yourself up in the warm blanket of denial if you choose. Maybe you should turn on the news. Crime is increasing in America"The second they realize you have a gun or try to get your gun you become an instant object that is dangerous and you will be shot. Even if they came to let's say take you super expensive TV that they saw through the window or if they came to steal some jewelry."
These comments speak volumes of your knowledge of responsible firearm ownership. I'm a Veteran and know how to handle myself. If it comes down to it I would have no problem killing someone treading on me. I have a friend who was raped, another who was robbed and severely beaten. I will not allow this to happen to my family or myself. You clearly have no training in self-defense. Will it take a serious incident before you realize you don't have to be a victim.
The meth epidemic is real, hard core crime is real, the failing judicial system is real. I sleep much better knowing I can defend my family if needed.
Bottom line: You are either the victim or the aggressor. Keep that denial blanket close.
You have no idea what training I have.
You are welcome to your assessment of risk and your decision as to what to do about it. You don't get to dictate mine. Isn't that the whole point of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?
I guess I don't understand where all the contempt is coming from. I never wrote that crime and violence do not exist. That isn't the point. The point is that gun ownership is a choice, to which I get to say "no, thanks". I don't have to make the same choice as you in order to support yours.
In short, the choice to go armed has nothing to do with being a nurse. To paraphrase what old-time butch lesbians had to say about "women's clothes", if you're a nurse and you have a gun, then having a gun is most definitely "nurse-like".
AlmostANurse321
67 Posts
Depends on where you live I guess. I'm in a rural area and during November all the nurses at my clinical site were talking about the start of deer season and hunting.