[k-mcgrady]

> "According to a 2011 Gallup poll, 47 percent of American adults keep at least one gun at home or on their property, and many of these gun owners are absolutists opposed to any government regulation of firearms. According to the same poll, only 26 percent of Americans support a ban on handguns."

This amazes me. I wonder how many of those 47% have had training? Or how many regularly practice firing the gun? This is one of the main reasons I'm opposed to people being allowed to own guns. Most probably don't know how to use them and in a situation where the weapon could be useful an untrained person will probably make the situation worse either by shooting another civilian or losing their cool and firing the gun and making a situation worse (e.g. in a robbery where everyone could come out safe if the thief gets the money - but some idiot with their own gun decides they will 'save the day', the thief freaks out and suddenly their are dead people).

Another reason I think guns should be make illegal in the US is the incredibly obvious evidence throughout the world that easier access to guns leads to more gun related crime. Coming from a country where guns are illegal it's very rare to hear or anyone being shot dead. Violent criminals obviously turn to other weapons such as knives but I would rather be up against a man with a knife than a man with a gun.

[jlgreco]

I am willing to bet a very sizeable percentage of that 47% fall into a "Has a shotgun in the attic which they were given 20 years ago and forgot about. Does not own any ammunition." category, or similar.

Still going to be a very large number that are more "active" gun owners, but I think 47% is likely something of an overstatement.

[rdl]

I could train someone with no prior knowledge of firearms, who was fairly intelligent, responsible, etc. to use a shotgun effectively for home defense in about 15 minutes on a range, and maybe an hour or so on use of force/escalation of force at a table. That's both the most morally defensible firearm ownership and the most likely positive use for a firearm, at the lowest overall cost (risk, financial cost, training time, etc.).

Concealed carry of a handgun, use outside the home, precision rifle, etc. would be a lot harder, but I'd be quite happy if most people just learned minimal home defense with a shotgun and nothing more.

[jlgreco]

Certainly shotguns are good for that. Most people I know that own guns were given shotguns (usually as wedding gifts or whatnot) for that reason. The only two firearms that I know of in my extended family are gifted shotguns in a locked gun-rack with a trigger lock and no ammunition. And my extended family is pretty much a bunch of hawks... Most firearm ownership in the States is similar to this I think. Both sensible and safe.

When we hear figures like 47% ownership, we may tend to think that all of that 47% is of the irresponsible sort that news stories eventually are made about. The reality is very boring and mundane though.

[Turing_Machine]

"I would rather be up against a man with a knife than a man with a gun."

I'd rather not be a helpless victim in either case.