Should I get a gun? Part I

See the Introduction to this four-part series here.

The first question on "should you get a gun" is the question of why? Will the gun be for;

1. Sport, such as target shooting?

2. Personal protection?

3. Home, family protection?

4. Hunting?

If the answer to your question is hunting, then go no further. I am not a hunter and cannot really help you. If you are interested in items 1, 2, or 3, then read on.

Items 1,2, and 3 are really the same thing: if you target shoot then you have a weapon you could use for personal protection. If you are interested in personal protection, you need to target shoot to maintain and improve your skills.

Many people mistakenly think that their personal protection is a matter of calling the police. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THIS IS NOT TRUE!!!!!!!

The police have a sworn duty to uphold the laws and to maintain general order in your community. THE POLICE DO NOT HAVE AN OBLIGATION OR LEGAL BURDEN TO PROTECT ANY ONE GIVEN PERSON. This is a matter of settled law. See for example, Warren v. District of Columbia. In this case, rape victims sued the police for not protecting them. The court ruled the police do not have a burden to protect individual persons.

The point of this is: you need to think about being your own "first responder". If you need to take First Aid, CPR, or learn to use a gun to do that then that is your mission. The civil authorities will do everything they can to help you, but when push comes to shove, protecting each and every individual is not their legal obligation.

If you are convinced that you need to be your own "first responder" to protect either yourself and/or you and your family and your property, the next part of this series will talk about what type of gun(s) to get.