re: #176 HappyWarrior

Not saying you’re insecure in your manhood if you own one btw but I am saying one doesn’t need to own a gun to be comfortable in his masculinity and I resent the gun culture suggesting if you’re not goo goo for guns, you’re somehow a wuss.

Quite so. No decision about lethal weapons should be based on feelings but on a rational evaluation of the need, and of the consequences both of using the weapon and, conversely, of being unarmed. The NRA-dominated gun culture fails massively on all counts.
The probability of a threat should be evaluated, but also the probability of individually becoming a target if such a threat does appear. For example, there is almost a 100% chance of armed attacks by Trump-Bannon inspired vigilantes. What are the chances of being individually targeted though, and how good are the chances of adequately defending yourself? In our situation, today, a lot depends on where you live, as well as upon the reliability of local law enforcement. I’m at the extreme edge of the threat evaluation envelope, in a rural area but surrounded by masses of violent wingnuts from the nearby DFW metroplex, with an over-tasked sheriff, and with state law enforcement under the command of a border line fascist lunatic.