Self defense while traveling

toedtoes wrote:
I find the comparison of having a gun as the same as having insurance or a fire extinguisher or air bags, etc., interesting. But I think there are some major differences.

First, most people carry home and car insurance because they are required to by law. If the insurance companies hadn't gotten the politicians to force feed people their product, there'd be a lot less people paying out insurance premiums. In 2002, it was estimated that 20,000 deaths, 7 million disabling injuries, and 20 million hospital visits were caused by home injuries. Compare that to the 51,736 number quoted above. In addition, see the stats below regarding fires and vehicle accidents.

Between 2008 and 2010, there were approximately 194,000 vehicle fires each year on our nation's highways*. In 2013, there were 369,500 home fires in the US. This is only the fires big enough to be reported to authorities and/or insurance. Compare that to the 51,736 number for gun violence stated above. Also, a fire extinguisher does not include the inherent risk that a gun does (a child accidentally getting a hold of it). The greater risk of a fire and the less risk of an accidental death creates a different logic in having a fire extinguisher than in having a gun.

According to the NHTA, 5.25 million car accidents occur each year. Again, compare that to the 51,736 number quoted above. Seat belts are required by law. Air bags are required by law in all new cars as of 1998 (although many people drive older vehicles that do not have air bags).

Life insurance and generators are the closest "safety precaution" to that of guns. But the major difference (as with fire extinguishers) is that life insurance can't kill someone by accident, and the odds of a generator killing someone by accident is far less than that of a gun killing someone by accident.

I have no problem with people having guns (I have a huge family that all have guns). My only request is that if you are going to have a gun: take all the safety precautions necessary to keep others safe; don't ignore other safety precautions (like getting out of a bad area) because you think the gun is all you need; take responsibility if your gun is the cause of an injury or death to another person; and don't let an unbalanced person in your life get a hold of your gun. My other request is do not bring your gun into my home or RV - show me the respect to follow my rules in my home (or RV).

*Interesting side not on these highway vehicle fires:
Approximately one in seven fires responded to by fire departments across the
nation is a highway vehicle fire. This does not include the tens of
thousands of fire department responses to highway vehicle accident sites.
Unintentional action (32 percent) was the leading cause of highway vehicle
fires.
Eighty-six percent of highway vehicle fires occurred in passenger vehicles.
Sixty-one percent of highway vehicle fires and 35 percent of fatal highway
vehicle fires originated in the engine, running gear or wheel area of the
vehicle.
The leading factor contributing to the ignition of highway vehicle fires was
mechanical failure (44 percent).
Insulation around electrical wiring (28 percent) and flammable liquids in
the engine area (18 percent) were the most common items first ignited in
highway vehicle fires.
Fifty-seven percent of fatal vehicle fires were the result of a collision