America is a heavily-armed nation. Not every individual has a gun, but there are plenty of people who make up for that by owning entire arsenals.
Generally, there is no limit to the number of guns that you can own unless you’re a convicted criminal or in certain other particular situations.
For some people, owning a gun, or many guns isn’t just a casual thing. They regard it as a lifestyle. It’s much the same as a motorcycle owner who might make that a part of their appearance and mentality.
The motorcycle owner usually wants society to see them as a little bit wild, an outlaw or a rule-breaker. Gun owners sometimes have that same mindset.
Let’s get into some gun ownership pros and cons right now.
You Can Protect Yourself
One potential gun ownership positive feature is that you can protect yourself. First, you need to ensure that you follow your state’s gun ownership laws.
For instance, in Arizona, you must be at least 18 years old to carry a gun. In that state, open carry laws exist, meaning that to carry a firearm, you do not need a permit or license.
If you have a gun on you when you’re out and about, or even if you keep it at home, you might feel a confidence that you would not otherwise have.
You know that if you’re ever in a dispute, and you think that someone is threatening your life, you have a gun handy that you can draw to defend yourself.
Presumably, you never want it to come to that, but if it does, you have a deadly weapon close at hand.
Even if you don’t want to carry your gun around with you, you have it at home, and if someone tries to break in, you can draw on them. That might prove to be the difference if you ever face a home invasion situation.
You Can Go Hunting With It
There are also some people who like gun ownership because that enables them to go hunting. You might be a person who likes to shoot wild games for food.
Some nice venison stew can be delicious, or you might go out after wild hogs or turkeys, depending on what is in your area.
If you hunt for sport, you might try to bag a trophy buck to mount its head on your wall. Some people regard this as cruel, but in some areas, humans need to control the deer population if they have no natural predators.
You Can Shoot Yourself by Accident
On the negative side of gun ownership, many studies have shown that you’re a lot more likely to shoot yourself than you are an intruder.
Those who have guns that are ostensibly for protection are more likely to injure themselves, statistically, than a burglar. You might easily shoot a family by accident as well.
You might prevent this to some extent by practicing strict gun safety protocols. You can also keep your guns in a safe or somewhere else that is secure.
That way, you can be sure your kids or other unqualified individuals cannot get to them.
Hunting Accidents
Maybe you enjoy hunting, but unfortunately, shooting another hunter by accident is nearly as likely as shooting a deer or squirrel.
When you’re on common land, you don’t know who else is out there with you, especially during hunting season.
You should definitely make sure of what you’re shooting at before firing. Accidents happen when a hunter is too quick on the trigger.
You can also avoid combining alcohol with firearms, as that can be a deadly combination.
Gun Theft
Gun theft is another issue. If you’ve got guns in your home, and you do not secure them properly, someone might break in and steal them.
If that happens, you might have just armed an individual who will use that gun to perpetrate a crime.
You’d hate to think that the weapon you bought for protection is now in someone’s possession who will shoot a bank guard or a store clerk with it.
If anyone steals one of your firearms, make sure to tell the police about it immediately.
If you do enjoy the gun ownership lifestyle, there is nothing necessarily wrong with that. You can probably find some like-minded people who appreciate firearms as much as you do.
You just need to follow some common-sense rules to ensure that you don’t harm yourself or someone else.
