I guess because:
1) it's a right they have and people in the US don't like giving up rights
But not carrying one does not mean you are giving up your rights. Are you giving up your Constitutional rights by not carrying a gun?
2) they feel that a gun makes them safer
Statistics show they are less safe with a gun. Some might feel safer driving in a tank, should people exercise their rights and drive everywhere in a tank?
A lot of people think the same about smoking cigarette. Heart disease, lung cancer, etc is obviously not cool..
No, but I would have no problem doing so.
Which camp would you fall most into?
Hunting, carrying one to the range, being in an area where I needed such additional protection all might result in me carrying a loaded gun.
But you choose not to. And I had specifically left out hunting for obvious reasons.. Same with the shooting range..
I don't - see above. There are cases where I would want to.
Dangerous neighbourhoods? If they are exercising their rights to carry guns, why would you feel safer if you have one also? Presumably the majority are carrying them for self defense and to feel safer. If so many people are armed, how can people still not feel safe?
It's strange that everyone deems that it is their right to own and carry guns, but the more people carry them, the less safe people seem to feel and the more guns they are then compelled to purchase to feel more safe. It's a vicious circle.
sculptor said:
Immediate "need" is rarely reflected in an act of civil disobedience.
Did Rosa Parks need to not give up her seat when there were other open seats?
In '66, did I need to demonstrate with the local SDS in support of the united farm workers?
Would Rosa Parks be the hero she is seen as being if she'd exercised her Constitutional Rights and used a gun to force the issue by use of intimidation to sit in the front of the bus?
Do I need the pistol?
Not normally, but if I have to track a wounded deer, I strap it on just in case the initial shot wasn't fatal.
Do I need the rifle? Not most of the time, (about 25 out of the 525,949 minutes in a year) but during hunting season, I use it 2-5 times to fill the freezer with venison.
Do I need freedom of religion?
Do you strap your hunting rifle to go shopping for clothes, food, etc? How about to go and eat at a restaurant?
Why do you feel you need freedom of religion?
I mean I don't know, do you? Who is going to take your religion from you? Was it ever threatened by the State in the firs place?
Immediate need is usually not important.
What is important is maintenance of our rights and those of our fellow humans, and sometimes, that seems odd to people who do not share the same mindsets, nor value the rights of others who might exercise them.
So you own them just in case there is tyranny?
Do people who do not own guns not exercising their rights correctly?
Just because you have the right to own a gun, does not mean you should own one. Aside from hunting, what other use do you have for them? Do you think people who have criminal records for violent crimes, or who are mentally ill, be allowed or have the right to own firearms?
How about if you are out at a restaurant, having a nice lunch with your kids. And you see 20 or so armed men and women swarm into the restaurant, all carrying semi-automatic weapons. You wouldn't find that threatening? I would.
See, that is what I don't understand. That pathological need to own a firearm just because it is my right. Your rights, even your Constitutional rights are curtailed and restricted. Your right to free speech does not give you the right to scream fire in a crowded theater. So why do gun advocates believe that their Constitutional rights to bear arms should be wholly unrestricted and untested (no checks or gun licenses, for example).