Guns are a necessary tool for hunting and a fun sport to engage in at the shooting range for bragging rights about a great grouping or center fire shots. Guns can be a way for a family to teach responsibility as youth learn proper skills for handling a weapon without endangering the people around them.
There is also a bit of a paradox concerning guns, as the most practical function of a gun is one you hope never to use. The use of a gun for self or home defense is something nobody wants to do, but is also the most important time to have weapon training and knowledge in order to instinctively act.
Mental Preparation
The first stage of preparing for home defense is the idea a weapon is intended to kill, and the fact that it might intimidate or scare an intruder is only a side effect. People who hunt already understand the consequences of firing their weapon, and people who have served in the military even outside of combat are trained on the primary purpose of what a rifle is intended to do. It is an important aspect of responsible gun ownership to understand what it means to shoot any living creature and especially another human being, and knowing when the circumstances call for such a drastic action.
Using Tactical Advantages
In your home, to some extent you have the opportunity to prevent the need for using a gun by setting up a tactical advantage against potential intruders. The first step is that you don’t invite potentially problematic people inside, even with the best of charitable intentions. Assuming nobody you don’t want feels welcome, simple practices such as keeping doors locked or having the lawn well lit at night will prevent most intruders from coming in. Bushes, or especially plants with thorns, can prevent access to ground level windows. You aren’t legally required to take such steps, but it’s much easier to maintain the home during the day than fight an intruder at night.
Understanding Legalities
Legalities may vary, some states have a “Stand Your Ground” law to legally define your rights, but the states which don’t have such legislation recognize your right to defend yourself, your home, and your family. In general terms, shooting is legally defensible if it was done for protection but not for retaliation, meaning you can and should shoot someone coming into your home, but if they are leaving, regardless of what they may have stolen, you don’t shoot them in the back. A judge and jury will likely be sympathetic to your reasoning in such a case, but in sheer legal terms nothing you own is worth a human life regardless of how worthless a life the criminal who broke into your house might lead.
Fine Tuning Your Stance
In this case, your stance means much more than correct shooting posture you practice at the range. Understand your rights and when to use them. Always stay safe, stay aware of local laws and how they change over time, and to any reasonable expectation prevent a situation from escalating to the point you need to use a gun to resolve it.
~ Firearm Daily
