Ways to protect yourself without a gun

[Anonymous]

I haven't read this whole thread, but you need to know the laws of your state regarding personal protection. Maryland has a "duty to retreat" law. You cannot use deadly force against someone unless you cannot flee the situation and you fear them using deadly force against you. This is even in your own home. If you have a home intruder and you have a door or window you can flee out of, you must take that route. If you use deadly force against an intruder, especially shooting someone willy nilly who is just in your house with no weapon, you best find a weapon to put in their hand after you shoot and you best be close enough to them when you shoot them to prove you were in imminent danger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll be in my bunker...surrounded by a wall of impenetrable TP wall. They will not shoot me then. They will start carrying out my humongo packets of Costco TPs...

Once the desperate looters will be able to take a worry-free dump and clean their butts with cloud like softness of Charmin...they will be in too good a mood to be angry and go looting and pillaging again.

If you would have let everyone take only two, instead of hoarding it all, no one would loot, and you wouldn’t need a charmin bunker! Lol

So true. I was the face of mindless Americanism consumerism before COVID.

I will obviously relent and change my ways. How do I go about reselling my wall of TP? It is sort of difficult with all the social distancing...

Besides I don't think that COSTCO will ever give $2 off on Charmin in its coupon book ever again. That bird has flown the coop for evah!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everything used by Kevin in all the "Home Alone" movies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read this whole thread, but you need to know the laws of your state regarding personal protection. Maryland has a "duty to retreat" law. You cannot use deadly force against someone unless you cannot flee the situation and you fear them using deadly force against you. This is even in your own home. If you have a home intruder and you have a door or window you can flee out of, you must take that route. If you use deadly force against an intruder, especially shooting someone willy nilly who is just in your house with no weapon, you best find a weapon to put in their hand after you shoot and you best be close enough to them when you shoot them to prove you were in imminent danger.

PP here, also meant to add, I don't think criminals will be breaking into houses like crazy, they know people are home for the lock down. Anyone who would be doing this would likely be targeting stores who are closed up right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A good door with a good set of locks and bars on the windows. If my house looks harder to break into than my neighbors', I am not that worried about the need to defend myself in my home.

+1. I have a good security system with glass break and motion alarms. When an intruder asks me to turn the howling sirens off, I can enter a secret code that lets the company know I’m in a home invader situation. The cops can arrest them as they leave.

Unlike pp, I’m not up for blowing the heads off teens.

I'm the cop who posted from earlier. The goal is to make your house more difficult to get into than your neighbors. Most burglaries are smash and grabs so they care less about alarms. Let's be honest, by the time the monitoring company calls you've lost minutes right there. DH wanted our alarm system because he travels for work. If he didn't want it, I doubt I would have had one put in. Get good locks, use motion lights and any dog that barks is a plus. Ring cams are also helpful as both a deterrent and means to provide evidence for any break-ins on your street.

So you’re saying they’re unlikely to come upstairs. In which case I’m doubly uninterested in going downstairs to kill someone in order to protect my flat-screen tv and laptops. (The antique silver is well hidden upstairs, thank you). Let the insurance company reimburse me.

Although opinions obviously differ—gun nut pp is totally up for killing people to protect his stuff. Maybe he can’t afford insurance.

If they do come upstairs, the siren will have already been going off a while. It’s me who turns the siren off, and enters the code for a home invasion. I don’t wait for the monitoring company to call me.

You don't know what they intend to do - stay downstairs, come upstairs.
You don't know if they "only" want to steal your electronics or not.
You don't know if the cops are going to respond in time to your alarm or not.
But you'd rather take a chance on everything going your way than have the means to protect yourself if it doesn't.
(shrug) You do you.

The types of home invasions where people break into your home with the sole intention of harming you or your family are extremely rare. If they desperately want to get in, these types of people will find a way. If you decide you're going to defend your family with a gun you had better be mentally prepared to pull the trigger (and be able to hit accurately) before they snatch it out of your hands. These events are few and far between. The few I've responded to ended up being drug-related.
Most of the time burglars strike during the day when they anticipate you will be at work and the kids will be at school. I wasn't downplaying the benefit of the security system but we get used to responding to false alarms. I tell my friends, if something is actively happening in your house call 9-1-1 even if your alarm has already been triggered. The cavalry will be coming if it's dispatched from a 9-1-1 call confirming that someone is in the house rather than the monitoring company simply calling to inform of an alarm going off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read this whole thread, but you need to know the laws of your state regarding personal protection. Maryland has a "duty to retreat" law. You cannot use deadly force against someone unless you cannot flee the situation and you fear them using deadly force against you. This is even in your own home. If you have a home intruder and you have a door or window you can flee out of, you must take that route. If you use deadly force against an intruder, especially shooting someone willy nilly who is just in your house with no weapon, you best find a weapon to put in their hand after you shoot and you best be close enough to them when you shoot them to prove you were in imminent danger.

The body will never be found in my home. Probably in trash bags in 32 different locations around the DMV. Actually my neighborhood has so many closed restaurants with meat grinders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have pepper spray and I am planning to buy a gun to prepare for the inevitable rioting and looting.

Please don't unless you have had proper firearm safety training. I really fear an increase in gun accidents from people who have no experience with firearms and no safety training running out to buy them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A good door with a good set of locks and bars on the windows. If my house looks harder to break into than my neighbors', I am not that worried about the need to defend myself in my home.

+1. I have a good security system with glass break and motion alarms. When an intruder asks me to turn the howling sirens off, I can enter a secret code that lets the company know I’m in a home invader situation. The cops can arrest them as they leave.

Unlike pp, I’m not up for blowing the heads off teens.

I'm the cop who posted from earlier. The goal is to make your house more difficult to get into than your neighbors. Most burglaries are smash and grabs so they care less about alarms. Let's be honest, by the time the monitoring company calls you've lost minutes right there. DH wanted our alarm system because he travels for work. If he didn't want it, I doubt I would have had one put in. Get good locks, use motion lights and any dog that barks is a plus. Ring cams are also helpful as both a deterrent and means to provide evidence for any break-ins on your street.

So you’re saying they’re unlikely to come upstairs. In which case I’m doubly uninterested in going downstairs to kill someone in order to protect my flat-screen tv and laptops. (The antique silver is well hidden upstairs, thank you). Let the insurance company reimburse me.

You know the rough percentages, dude. The cop above just gave them. And you know the rough chances the invader will be within 6 feet of you before you react (like it’s 3am and you’re asleep) are greater than that. What else do you need? Or are you not good with percentages?

Although opinions obviously differ—gun nut pp is totally up for killing people to protect his stuff. Maybe he can’t afford insurance.

If they do come upstairs, the siren will have already been going off a while. It’s me who turns the siren off, and enters the code for a home invasion. I don’t wait for the monitoring company to call me.

You don't know what they intend to do - stay downstairs, come upstairs.
You don't know if they "only" want to steal your electronics or not.
You don't know if the cops are going to respond in time to your alarm or not.
But you'd rather take a chance on everything going your way than have the means to protect yourself if it doesn't.
(shrug) You do you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can I also use a hammer to put out a kitchen fire?


No?


So I guess that would be about as dumb as using bug spray to stop a home invader.

You obviously failed Analogies 101.

It’s a perfect analogy.

Tell us why you think it’s a failed one please.

Are you Donald of the “perfect” everything?

Metal doesn’t put out fires. Bug spray in the eyes can stop a human. Both of these things are known by toddlers.

You seem a little slow, so I’ll explain it because I take pity on you.

Both are examples of using an inappropriate item to try and accomplish a task.

A hammer is the wrong tool for extinguishing a fire, just as bug spray is the wrong tool for defending yourself against a criminal.

A gun is the correct tool for defending yourself against a home invasion, just as a fire extinguisher is the correct tool for putting out a kitchen fire.



Now, go forth and dumb no more.

Hey 😆 poster, don’t you have some believers to abuse on the Religion forum?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A good door with a good set of locks and bars on the windows. If my house looks harder to break into than my neighbors', I am not that worried about the need to defend myself in my home.

+1. I have a good security system with glass break and motion alarms. When an intruder asks me to turn the howling sirens off, I can enter a secret code that lets the company know I’m in a home invader situation. The cops can arrest them as they leave.

Unlike pp, I’m not up for blowing the heads off teens.

I'm the cop who posted from earlier. The goal is to make your house more difficult to get into than your neighbors. Most burglaries are smash and grabs so they care less about alarms. Let's be honest, by the time the monitoring company calls you've lost minutes right there. DH wanted our alarm system because he travels for work. If he didn't want it, I doubt I would have had one put in. Get good locks, use motion lights and any dog that barks is a plus. Ring cams are also helpful as both a deterrent and means to provide evidence for any break-ins on your street.

So you’re saying they’re unlikely to come upstairs. In which case I’m doubly uninterested in going downstairs to kill someone in order to protect my flat-screen tv and laptops. (The antique silver is well hidden upstairs, thank you). Let the insurance company reimburse me.

Although opinions obviously differ—gun nut pp is totally up for killing people to protect his stuff. Maybe he can’t afford insurance.

If they do come upstairs, the siren will have already been going off a while. It’s me who turns the siren off, and enters the code for a home invasion. I don’t wait for the monitoring company to call me.

You don't know what they intend to do - stay downstairs, come upstairs.
You don't know if they "only" want to steal your electronics or not.
You don't know if the cops are going to respond in time to your alarm or not.
But you'd rather take a chance on everything going your way than have the means to protect yourself if it doesn't.
(shrug) You do you.

The types of home invasions where people break into your home with the sole intention of harming you or your family are extremely rare. If they desperately want to get in, these types of people will find a way. If you decide you're going to defend your family with a gun you had better be mentally prepared to pull the trigger (and be able to hit accurately) before they snatch it out of your hands. These events are few and far between. The few I've responded to ended up being drug-related.
Most of the time burglars strike during the day when they anticipate you will be at work and the kids will be at school. I wasn't downplaying the benefit of the security system but we get used to responding to false alarms. I tell my friends, if something is actively happening in your house call 9-1-1 even if your alarm has already been triggered. The cavalry will be coming if it's dispatched from a 9-1-1 call confirming that someone is in the house rather than the monitoring company simply calling to inform of an alarm going off.

I do have to pro-actively put in the code for a home invasion as I’m pretending to disable the siren. I have that code memorized (it’s a simple matter of adding 2 digits to the existing code).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A good door with a good set of locks and bars on the windows. If my house looks harder to break into than my neighbors', I am not that worried about the need to defend myself in my home.

+1. I have a good security system with glass break and motion alarms. When an intruder asks me to turn the howling sirens off, I can enter a secret code that lets the company know I’m in a home invader situation. The cops can arrest them as they leave.

Unlike pp, I’m not up for blowing the heads off teens.

Pp again. That is, if they don’t leave when the sirens go off. Both floors and my basement are protected by the system.

So the sirens will do what, exactly?

Deafen them to death?

Duh. Scare them into thinking the police are on their way. The times I’ve had false alarms and didn’t call the police off in time, the police showed up within 5 minutes with 4-5 uniformed and plain-clothes officers prepared for a home invasion. They showed up without sirens, deliberately. (And then they charged me $ for the false alarms).

I trust the police to handle this way better than I could. Nor do I want one of my family members getting all macho-vigilante around me and stashing guns around the house. Especially given the cop above who says once they’re within 6 feet of you a gun is useless—which is the likely scenario when an intruder wakes you up at 3am in your bed.

But I guess if your end-game is the intruder’s death, as you say, then only your own gun will do.

No answer to this one, huh? So you go with the taunts and stupid emojis instead. Nice!

When seconds count, the police are only five minutes away.


Wanna know how long five minutes is? Try holding your breath five minutes. It’s an eternity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A good door with a good set of locks and bars on the windows. If my house looks harder to break into than my neighbors', I am not that worried about the need to defend myself in my home.

+1. I have a good security system with glass break and motion alarms. When an intruder asks me to turn the howling sirens off, I can enter a secret code that lets the company know I’m in a home invader situation. The cops can arrest them as they leave.

Unlike pp, I’m not up for blowing the heads off teens.

Those "teens" are probably 6' tall and perfectly capable of killing you, as well as willing to do so.

Nah. They made the mistake of talking to a black guy in the neighborhood (who took down their license plate and turned them in). They were dumb teens manipulated by the gang bosses back in DC.



You know, not all black teens are cold-blooded killers. Like you want to be.

It’s kind of hilarious that the only person in this thread who brought up race was the person implying how racist gun owners were.

Project much?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A good door with a good set of locks and bars on the windows. If my house looks harder to break into than my neighbors', I am not that worried about the need to defend myself in my home.

+1. I have a good security system with glass break and motion alarms. When an intruder asks me to turn the howling sirens off, I can enter a secret code that lets the company know I’m in a home invader situation. The cops can arrest them as they leave.

Unlike pp, I’m not up for blowing the heads off teens.

I'm the cop who posted from earlier. The goal is to make your house more difficult to get into than your neighbors. Most burglaries are smash and grabs so they care less about alarms. Let's be honest, by the time the monitoring company calls you've lost minutes right there. DH wanted our alarm system because he travels for work. If he didn't want it, I doubt I would have had one put in. Get good locks, use motion lights and any dog that barks is a plus. Ring cams are also helpful as both a deterrent and means to provide evidence for any break-ins on your street.

So even dad upstairs with his gun under his pillow sounds pretty useless.

Mmmmmn, no, she never said any such thing.

Guns are quite useful at stopping people who are threats to life. That’s why cops carry them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can I also use a hammer to put out a kitchen fire?


No?


So I guess that would be about as dumb as using bug spray to stop a home invader.

You obviously failed Analogies 101.

It’s a perfect analogy.

Tell us why you think it’s a failed one please.

Are you Donald of the “perfect” everything?

Metal doesn’t put out fires. Bug spray in the eyes can stop a human. Both of these things are known by toddlers.

You seem a little slow, so I’ll explain it because I take pity on you.

Both are examples of using an inappropriate item to try and accomplish a task.

A hammer is the wrong tool for extinguishing a fire, just as bug spray is the wrong tool for defending yourself against a criminal.

A gun is the correct tool for defending yourself against a home invasion, just as a fire extinguisher is the correct tool for putting out a kitchen fire.



Now, go forth and dumb no more.

Not going to match your childish abuse. But if you’ve ever had bug spray in your eyes, you’d know it’s almost as good as mace for causing pain and stopping you cold.

Go forth and be wiser.

I used Raid to stop a party fight in college. It was effective.

And a federal crime.

“It is illegal to use this product in a manner inconsistent with it’s labeling”..... check the back of the can - it says that right on it.


Not only could you be charged for using bug spray against a person, that person could sue you for damages, and will win.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read this whole thread, but you need to know the laws of your state regarding personal protection. Maryland has a "duty to retreat" law. You cannot use deadly force against someone unless you cannot flee the situation and you fear them using deadly force against you. This is even in your own home. If you have a home intruder and you have a door or window you can flee out of, you must take that route. If you use deadly force against an intruder, especially shooting someone willy nilly who is just in your house with no weapon, you best find a weapon to put in their hand after you shoot and you best be close enough to them when you shoot them to prove you were in imminent danger.

New poster - I would rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6. If you break into my house, you are either going to get bit by one of my German Shepherds or shot by me or my DH. I don’t care if you are 16 or 56. Makes no difference to me how old you are or why you chose to break in.