I'm going to put this in GD and it may be locked

[catnhatnh]

Because I'm going to say a few things about guns that aren't normally allowed in this forum and I'll plead they belong here because of the President's recent speech on gun control.

First of all we need to limit the production of guns in this country. In a past portion of my life I drove trucks in Connecticut that picked up metal scrap in the Winchester and Mossberg plants. Now any well made firearm will function properly for several hundred years. Being in those plants and observing that multiple tractor trailer loads of guns were shipped 5 or more days a week made it obvious that too many guns are being produced. If you are shot with a weapon produced for the civil war reduces nothing in terms of results.

Now that the gunners hate me-I've just bought a handgun and a rifle. I traded away my last firearm in 1973-after the service I returned to Connecticut and I wanted a motorcycle which was something more useful than guns.

Fast Forward 40 years and change. I find myself only a short distance away from losing my house. I'm by myself now and am structuring this-next fall someone else will get my home and I will be RVing full time. I will be a 63 year old handicapped white guy living as a gypsy. And that means as a target. My Winnebago will be perceived as a rolling ATM by people in better shape than me.

The fact is I didn't want to be here. Before buying the weapons I bought I biometric safe for the camper and can get to my firearms in under 5 seconds. I guess in a really scary place I can lay them out near me. The other fact is that I will be in places that can be scary.

I wish very much we lived in unicorn world where things are happy. But instead we live in "Florida Man" world and I will be in places not as secure as the home I will be leaving.

Now tell me why I should do what I am planning without a gun.

[jberryhill]

1. Don't care for dogs much, eh?

Nobody knows if a 63 year old man has a gun.

It's pretty obvious if he has a Belgian Malinois.

Unlike a gun, a dog can think, can announce its presence, works automatically to protect you, and will love you.

[catnhatnh]

3. Dude-we're talking a 20' Winnebago

This would be unfair to a dog and besides I'm a cat guy...and I found my cat a home. I'm just trying to do it right.

[jberryhill]

6. Doghouses are smaller than that

Presumably this Winnebago is parked a lot. Do you just stay inside the whole time?

Igloos are smaller than that. The dogs don't mind.

Aside from which, a dog provides much better protection than a gun. A gun in a safe is no deterrent to anything. But if someone outside hears a dog barking inside, they are moving on.

Different breeds have different sensibilities. Some are happy to not do much damn near all day.

[pnwmom]

8. Which reminds me . . . I think I've seen devices that can be connected

to cameras or sensors and will make a dog-bark noise if something's detected.

I don't know how well they work -- just that they exist. And would require a lot less attention than a real dog.

We have two dogs and love them dearly. But I'd never suggest anyone get one who was trying to reduce his responsibilities.

[MADem]

11. Get a smaller dog with a big bark.

And get a wireless fence you can deploy when you decide to hang out in one place for awhile, and train the dog on it.

What thief is going to "know" you have a gun, unless you do that open carry crap like the crazies in TX? And if you do that, all you're telling the thieves is "Wait till he's asleep, then conk him on the head and steal his guns...."

[saturnsring]

16. that would be a corgi- theyre sweet and lovable and they got a big doggie bark

[MADem]

17. +1,000! nt

[cherokeeprogressive]

23. Why do people always say that? Put a collar on your dog and I'll kill it in 60 seconds.

If it weighs less than a hundred pounds; I'm going to kill it with its own collar. Part of a self-defense class I took.

In the class, you were going to have to give something up... give it a place to bite. Present your non-dominant arm and let the dog have the meaty part of your forearm. Once it bites, grab its collar and start twisting. In no more than a few seconds you're going to have the dog fighting for its own life and it will have completely forgotten about attacking you. Killing it or not will be your choice.

Some classmates and I were talking after a few tokes and a couple beers about how a bad person could apply that knowledge. Were I of bad intent I'd show up to a place that had a dog (trust me, I'd never enter a place I hadn't scoped in advance) with my forearm wrapped in a layer of tough leather, a towel, and some duct tape. If your dog weighs less than say 50 pounds; after it takes my arm and I have my fingers under its collar I'll simply swing it against the corner of a wall, a door jamb, or against the end of the coffee table to break its back. Then I'll kill it. Or not.

In less time than it takes the gendarmes to get rolling from the local Dunkin' Donuts, I can kill your dog. Come out of your bedroom and I just may beat you to death with it.

No collar? No matter. I'll still give it my forearm. Then I'll grab its foreleg and break it. After that I'll crush its ribcage with my knees.

Your way around this? Buy an attack dog that weighs more than a hundred pounds, and never forget to take its collar off after walking it. Then hope I don't have mace or a knife, or a ball of hamburger with drano wrapped in it. Me? I'll have a gun of my own, and chances are I'll kill it with that. What kind of idiot would contemplate breaking into a house without being armed? I have a notion of who, but can't say.

Dog? I'm not afraid of your dog, and it'll be dead before the cops ever even get the call.

[pnwmom]

2. I'm not going to say you should do what you're doing without a gun.

You are planning to keep it stored safely and you aren't objecting to background checks or other gun laws.

Obama isn't suggesting we confiscate the guns of lawful gun owners, as you know.

I'm sorry you're going to be losing your house and your other challenges. Good luck, catnhhatnh.

[catnhatnh]

4. Thank you

Especially because I know you and I disagree on candidates. My other challenges are just what life at this age is. I'm actually looking forward to this-we all wanted to wander as kids and I think maybe this may be a special time. I know exactly how little the president is proposing and how hard he will be attacked for it. I kinda posted this because I'm buying guns and feel conflicted by it, and think that's not a bad place to start a conversation from...

[qwlauren35]

21. You have put thought into it

and your reasoning makes sense to you. It is for defense. I respect that.

If you're going to keep them "within easy reach", please don't have children in your home, and please do some limbering and strengthening exercises so that the gun cannot be wrestled away from you.

Last... you will need to develop a cold-blooded instinct to be able to shoot an intruder. If you are not sure that you can live with being responsible for someone's death, you may want to go with the dog.

[Hoyt]

5. Every decade we do nothing, another 100,000,000 new gunz are bought that we will have to deal with

sooner or later. That's just friggin right wing stupid.

[underthematrix]

7. Here's the thing about guns, which are deadly weapons.

If you are using a gun for protection, you have to be totally committed to using it. This may mean taking another person's life to protect your life. If you find you have to take a life, you have to be willing to deal with the consequences of that choice. I'm not judging. That's what it means to have a gun for protection.

Most people who prance around with guns in public are not committed to either of these two decision points. This is why they often end up "accidentally" shooting themselves, a loved one or causing a loved one to be killed as a result of the accessibility of their weapon or weapons.

[newfie11]

9. Bring your RV up here to Western South Dakota

I live rural in the Black Hills and crime is very low.

[aikoaiko]

10. Sounds ok to me.

Do what did you get for self-defense?

What make and model safe?

[safeinOhio]

12. I support you..

You may want to google "cheap home security". There are many very affordable items that may help you. I see home security as the first line of defense before using a firearm. Add to that it will help protect your stuff when you are not there. A motion detecting light over your door. Added locks and an inside bolt to door. They even make a fake dog barking alarm that senses thru a door and start a dog barking sound that get louder as the person gets closer.
Anyway, you'll be amazed at what is available and might fit a recreational vehicle. Shooting an intruder is a mess. You'll need a lawyer and a clean up crew. Why not stop it in the first phase and encourage the crooks to move to an easier victim?

Good luck

[B Calm]

13. Set up an electric fence around your RV. .

[cwydro]

14. Why are you going to places that are "scary"?

Campgrounds are safe for the most part.

Also, Walmart allows RVs to park in their lots, which are lighted, have security and cameras.

[LuvNewcastle]

15. I wish you the best, catnhatnh.

Are you going to stay in one spot most of the time or move around to parks? I would probably want a gun if I were in your position as something to have just in case, but like the others here, I think I would rely more on a good security system. Also, wherever you choose to stay, don't isolate yourself too much. Try to stay near other campers so that if you raise the alarm, others will come to your aid. I hope you enjoy yourself on your trips. Wish I could do something like that, at least every now and then.

[HereSince1628]

18. I don't have a problem with you and guns, but why live where you have such fear?

What's wrong with the Winnebago's wheels?

[Fumesucker]

19. I have a 28 footer and a dog no problem, I've seen cats adjust to RV living too.

No need to go without a pet just because you've gone mobile. Dogs only care about if they are with you (he typed with a dog asleep in his lap) and cats are much more flexible than most people give them credit for.

You might want to look into boondocking or dry camping, there are a lot of places to camp that don't cost anything, particularly in the West but it's not impossible to find free places East of the Mississippi too. RV parks are OK if you are the gregarious sort and have a decent income but if you like privacy and/or are on a budget they can be expensive and noisy/nosy.

There are also other options that can have you staying on private property of other RVers who have an extra set hookups or even just a dry camping spot (being able to dry camp even part time will open up a lot of less expensive/free and more private options). Many experienced full timers follow the weather, summer somewhere it's high and cool, winter somewhere it's low and warm, that keeps the need for heating and cooling to a minimum.

[Odin2005]

20. The number of guns is a symptom, not a cause, of violence in our society.

Unless you change the culture, especially in the South with it's violent culture of honor and history of violent repression of blacks, and unless we end the War On Drugs that fuels gang violence trying to restrict the sale of guns and trying to reduce the number of guns available will just create a black market for guns.

The reason Most European countries don't have tons of guns floating around is not just because their laws are strict, but because most Europeans, unlike Americans, don't want to own guns, so there is no risk of a substantial black market. Europe, historically, had a peasantry that was kept disarmed and thus easy to repress and so Europeans do not have a culture of using guns like we do.

[Egnever]

22. Your paranoia is the same as every other gun nuts out there

You are just excusing it because it is you.

Feel free to tell me how yours is different.