Where Are You Most Likely to Need a Gun – And Least Likely to Have One?

In less than five seconds, your home could suddenly change from a quiet refuge to a killing ground with home invaders attacking you. Where are you, and – more to the point – where’s your gun?

The chances are, by the very fact you’re reading this article (and thank you for doing so), you’re at least somewhat sensitive to the need to prudently protect yourselves and your loved ones.

Maybe you have a home defense gun of some sort in your bedroom somewhere.  Maybe you carry a concealed pistol with you, too, and if you do so, you’re probably more likely to carry one if/when you’re going somewhere you perceive to be less safe than other places.

But, where is the place you’re most likely to need a gun?  Hint – it is also the place you’re least likely to have one with you.

The answer is, of course, when you’re ordinarily at home, doing ordinary normal things.  Cooking in the kitchen.  Doing the laundry.  Mowing the lawn.  Watching television.  And so on.

Just like the old (and true) saying ‘most accidents occur in the home’ and ‘most car accidents occur within five miles of home’; the chances are typically greater – for most people leading normal lives – that they’ll have a violent encounter in their home rather than anywhere else.

There are several reasons why the place we perceive as our safest refuge is actually not.  The biggest reason – whether we’re talking accident statistics or risk of becoming a victim of violent crime – is simply the fact that it is the place we spend most of our lives at.  We probably spend more than 50% of our lives at home, compared to perhaps 25% – 30% of our lives at work (which may be more than just one fixed location), 5% – 10% of our lives in the car, and so on.

So, okay.  You might be thinking ‘Not a problem; I’ve got my trusty revolver by the bed; I’m always ready for anything that goes down’.  But – may we ask this :  You’re seated at the dining table having dinner when suddenly CRASH!  Someone kicks in the front door and bursts into your house.  Now tell me how useful the gun in your bedroom is, while you’re at the dining table, and potentially the bad guys are standing between you and your bedroom.

Similar scenario for if you’re outside mowing the lawn.  Or in the laundry.  Or maybe relaxing on your deck on a warm sunny summer afternoon.  The gun in your bedroom is only good while you’re within arm’s reach of it, also in your bedroom.

One more scenario.  Instead of the bad guys drawing attention to themselves by kicking your front door down, what say they instead politely knock and stand back, waiting for you to come to the front door and open it for them.  That’s easier on them – you open the door for them.  But don’t expect a thank you as they then rush you from a distance of only three or four feet away and knock you to the ground.  If you don’t already have your hand on your gun when opening the door to strangers, you’re completely at risk of a sudden attack.

Here’s another thing to consider.  We all know that concealed carry is a bit of a hassle, requiring us to accept compromises in terms of comfort, convenience, concealability, and caliber/power.  We accept such compromises in return for the massive boost in safety and security we get in turn.  Now, when we’re at home, we don’t need to worry about concealability.  We can wear a nice comfortable on-the-belt range style holster, and wear a dual magazine holder on our other side, too, and carry as big a gun as we wish to.

Some people might think ‘Oh, this would never happen to me.  I live in a good neighborhood.’  But, from a criminal’s point of view, ‘good’ neighborhoods are the best places for them to visit.  The chances are there are more valuables inside homes in a good neighborhood, and – sad to say – the chances are also that ‘good’ people are going to be more trusting and less likely to be suspicious and ready to defend against a sudden surprise attack.

Do you commute to work?  Guess what.  So too do the criminals.  It is actually considered impolite for criminals to attack each other; and they’re more fearful of recriminations if they should do so.  But they all know that if they do a reverse commute out into the better ‘burbs, they’re going to find street after street lined with tempting tasty targets.

It seems that the prevalence of violent ‘home invasion’ type burglaries might be slightly increasing.  Home invasions – when the criminals don’t care if there are people home or not (or, worse still, if they expect and are pleased to find people at home) are extremely dangerous for the home occupants, because the criminals have the privacy of the house they’ve taken over, and the luxury of uninterrupted time, during which they can do anything at all to the house, its contents, and its occupants.

The immediately preceding two articles concern what happened to a couple when a person invaded their home late one night.  Fortunately, they had gone to bed and so were close to their bedroom, but re-read that story and wonder what would have happened if they were still up and watching television when, without warning, all of a sudden a propane tank crashes through their outside door and is followed seconds later by a berserk deranged attacker.

Here’s another example of how home invaders suddenly swoop down on a house.  Note, in this story, that the police, while promptly called by a girl already in the house, didn’t arrive until much later.  We mean no disrespect to the police at all when we repeat the mantra that you must understand, accept, and build into your planning :  When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

Are you ready to respond, right now, if your home is invaded?