Gun in the shower paranoid?

[blackmind]

It's called "the Human Condition," Pax. Ain't never gonna change.

People are built this way. They are not the same, so they are bound to think differently about various subjects. Difference easily spawn misunderstanding, distrust, disagreement, dislike...

How long can you stay sad about it? You have to observe that it's been this way for umpteen thousands of years! WE'RE supposed to be the generation that will put it to rest? I'll bet every generation since the world began felt that way. It's utterly unrealistic.

What many of us DO hope to do, though, is change those minds that we feel are looking at a subject with a faulty filter; those minds that are not being logical or rational about subjects that call for those traits.

If I have a vaccine for diptheria, and I bring it to some backward African nation, and the "leaders" of the tribe I bring it to tell their followers that I am a demon and the vaccine will hurt them, we have a disagreement. Based on fact or opinion, who can say? But ONLY ONE OF US IS RIGHT and telling the objective truth. As the one who really can claim the truth is on his side, I would feel justified if I really hammered on about my views on the subject -- even to the point of possibly ridiculing the notion that I'm a demon.



-blackmind

 

[johnnymenudo]

If it's so easy to just yank yourself and/or your family right out of the low-income, high-crime areas right into the bucolic suburbs where crime is near zero, I guess I just can't figure out why everyone living in the inner cities hasn't done it already!


Maybe it's not as simple as "moving to a better area." Maybe that takes more money and resources than some people have. So IF they are "stuck" there -- even if just for a time -- they should not keep a gun near them in the home because it's "paranoid"?

I am not sure if you are referring to my post but never once did I say anything about suburbs vs inner city vs. X. If so, your reply is trying to minimize the validity of my points by fabricating scenarios that I have not even inferred. It never once said that inner city dwellers should move to bucolic suburbs. Again I will say this. If you feel that where you live is so dangerous that you have to have a gun in the shower, then you have to ask yourself why am I staying here? I am referring to TFL members since that is who is involved in this discussion. If someone can spend money on guns and internet access and computers, then they should have the resources to get out of the weekly rate motel and into an apartment with a solid core door and some bars on the windows at the very least. Let's say that they have no choice and crime is all around them - then feel free to carry a gun everywhere. I highly doubt however that many of us if any live in that kind of an environment. I think the average person has a better chance of slipping in the shower and getting fatally injured in the fall then they do of having a home invader attack them while showering. Maybe the best choice is just not to shower.

JM

 

[stratus]

First off, +1 for what blackmind said.

Now for the other thing....

I think the average person has a better chance of slipping in the shower and getting fatally injured in the fall then they do of having a home invader attack them while showering. Maybe the best choice is just not to shower.

No way would I give up washing. Do I look like an Frenchman to you?

 

[Jack Malloy]

No place is any safer than any other.
There is no such thing as a safe place, only safe PEOPLE.
There is no such thing as a dangerous place, only dangerous PEOPLE.
People get around.

My next door neighbor is a vietnam vet and an ex police officer. He got robbed this past summer despite the fact that we live SIXTY FEET away from the FRONT DOOR of the police station, in a peaceful little town.
Last winter US Marshalls arrested a seriel killer from Chicago who was living in the next lane.
We have lived there for years with no problems and no crimes. Then BAM!
Crap can happen anywhere, at any time to anybody.
If you are not properly prepared IT CAN happen to you.
Telling yourself that you live in a safe area and you dont have to prepare and you dont have to worry about it is nothing but LYING to YOURSELF and heaven help you when fate steps in and proves you wrong.

I heard a wonderful example of this Bullcrap Thinking this morning on the local radio station. They were talking about some moronic report about workplace safety and noted that many employers prohibit any weapons on the premisis.
Boy, thats smart. If somebody is going to go ahead and KILL a coworker and commit Murder (homicide, which is against the law) does anybody HONESTLY think that such an individual is going to obey a no weapons in the workplace rule?
All that does is ensures to the whackos out there that they will have some defenseless victims to prey upon.

 

[clt46910]

If you think about it, if you wanted to kill someone and didn't care about yourself(think extremely angry or deranged), the best place would be at their work. Very few people will carry at work for fear of lossing their jobs because of such rules. Always in the car or left at home.

 

[PythonGuy]

My thought is I wouldn't do it, but if someone else wants to go right ahead. Its their house and their property, if they feel safer, great. Like Pax was saying, I can't put my ways on anyone , nor do I want to. We all need to get through our lives the best way we can, if this works for some, so be it.

 

[seth]

for those of you who leave the pistol in arms reach while showering:

If its a single action weapon like a 1911, are you telling me you have a round chambered and the safety OFF? Or are you giving enough time to grab the gun, rack the slide, then take aim if surprised by a bathroom invader?

 

[blackmind]

Seth, you left out the possibility of cocked-and-locked if the gun is a 1911. That means loaded chamber, hammer cocked, safety on. All you need to do is drop the safety, aim and fire. No racking the slide necessary. And, who says that the invader is already in the bathroom? That's one possibility. Others include hearing breaking glass in another room, hearing a door being pounded on, hearing a dog responding to a stranger...

Having the gun there in the bathroom with you is simply prudent, much wiser than leaving it out in the bedroom or wherever it would be "stored" normally when not being used for personal defense. Why force yourself to have to go get it when a threat is already in the process of presenting itself? Because you're embarrassed that a bunch of guys and women on TFL might call you paranoid? For me, so be it. I keep my gun as close when at home as when I go out. No reason not to.


-blackmind

 

[blackmind]

If your a city guy you may have better reason to CCW than us country bumpkins.

I always thought that it was at least equally important, since it is well-known that police response in sparsely populated areas can be up to like 1/2 hour away! Who's gonna take care of you for that period of time, if on the crazy-odd chance someone and his buddies take a dislike to you?

What if some meth-lab-running psycho gets some bum information that your house belongs to the dudes who tried to rip him off? And one night he comes calling with a few other guys. You don't have to have done anything wrong for someone to mistakenly start coming after you! So IF they do some day, what can you do if you've left your guard down? I'm not saying to roam your house with your AR-15 slung over your shoulder, a tac-vest on, sidearm in your Fobus holster and an attack German Shepherd on a leash, for cryin' out loud. But if you HAVE a handgun that could save your life from an attack, why not have it NEAR you??


-blackmind

 

[k9lwt]

I think it's a little paranoid. If you are washing soap off your face, your eyes will be closed for a few seconds and you won't even see the threat.

 

[stevensc]

If you were robbed, or worse, wouldn't it be awfull to think:
"Damn! I went to all the trouble of getting a CCW permit and keeping it up to date, practiced at the range, had a safe full of guns, and when I really needed one it wasn't there!"
Having said that I very seldom carry but have been trying to get used to it and into the habit of having one on me or near by whenever possible. I always have one in the console of my vehicle and in the nightstand.
Steve

 

[JohnKSa]

stevensc,

I have long found it ironic that people go to great lengths and expense to carry in public where it's difficult, fraught with legal complications and practical considerations and yet often don't even think about (or are even against) carrying where they can almost always legally carry and do it for free--on their own property and in their own homes.

 

[stratus]

And, who says that the invader is already in the bathroom? That's one possibility. Others include hearing breaking glass in another room, hearing a door being pounded on, hearing a dog responding to a stranger...

I agree. I don't have a decent place IN the actual shower to reach for my weapon, but I do have one of those towel racks in the shower, so it's feasible to be able to hang a holster from it. (I could drape a towel over the holster, even though my bathroom gun is a USP and relatively insensitive to excess moisture in the air).

Meanwhile, I still keep the gun NEXT to the shower. I have a relatively small apartment, and there are only three ways that an intruder could readily gain access. The front door (a metal door which is double-bolted when I am home and would require multiple kicks), the sliding glass door on the patio (tempered glass, would raise a racket) and the bedroom window (probably still loud enough to hear over the shower if broken). So, I guess I'd have time to react. I wouldn't want to put myself in a situation where the intruder had the opportunity to get into the bathroom without my knowing it, cause there's a gun right there for the taking.

Actually... I'm gonna go mess with a way to keep the gun hanging from the towel rack. A fanny pack fastened around the towel rack should do nicely... I dunno why I didn't think of that before, though.

So what are you waiting for, call me paranoid!

 

[model 25]

In the camps of Iraq all the troops carry a weapon with them at all times. I was driving on the east side of the camp when the mortars came in. The first round hit behind my truck dead center in the road.

Second round hit 50 meters further into the camp and the third hit about 100 meters into the camp. All three were 80 mm in size. The last round that hit was a 120 mm. It came down through the male showers roof and out a wall and never exploded, they forgot to arm the fuze.

The guys inside the shower were real happy Not their time to go. Sorry, just had to tell my shower exspearience

25

 

[Russ538]

I can certainly see having a gun in the bathroom. If someone were to break in to your house, the bathroom is probably the worst place to be unarmed. No exits, not even a place to hide.

If you had a gun available to you in the bathroom and heard someone break into your house, or possibly attempting to break the bathroom door down, wouldn't take long to chamber a round and prepare to fire.

I wouldn't exactly have the thing hanging around my neck while in the shower, but I wouldn't call it paranoid to have a gun somewhere in the bathroom while showering, especially if no one else was home.

 

[John 242]

......Don't let reasonable precautions turn into obsessions. Because not everything is under your control, and trying to make it so will make you crazy.
But most of all (and this is what this thread was supposed to be about) be aware of what goes on in the world and of its possible impact on your life. Because until you realize the possibilities, it's impossible to determine what a "reasonable precaution" really is.

+1
I could rant for an hour, but I think you nailed it.

 

[stratus]

......Don't let reasonable precautions turn into obsessions. Because not everything is under your control, and trying to make it so will make you crazy.

John, I think you have a good point, but I would stipulate that if you can reasonably devise a system of getting your gun into the shower with you while keeping it dry, then it would qualify as a reasonable precaution. Keeping a gun in or near the shower is no more or less paranoid than keeping a gun by your bedside. The only reason that you're more likely to have a home invasion when you sleep as opposed to shower, is due to the disparity of the amount of time typically spent during each activity. You probably spend much more of your time sleeping than you do showering. But this certainly doesn't preclude the possibility of someone gaining entry to your home while you are showering, and so I don't see the rationale for considering it unreasonable to have a gun within reach while practicing hygiene. Would you elect not to wear your seat belt just because it was 3 AM, few (if any) cars on the road, and you were not traveling on a major highway?

It boils down to this: One should either be in the practice of keeping a gun handy, or not. Be consistent, one way or the other. Anything else is liable to confuse you when you encounter a BG in your home. One does not need to obsess over something in order to practice it and allow it to become second nature.

 

[John 242]

Startus;
I agree with what you are saying.
I don't carry into the shower, but I do carry 99% of the time around the home.
I live in a fairly peaceful community, but as JohnKSa alluded to, I have come to realize that I may need my firearm without warning. This is a personal decision on my part. I choose to remain armed as often as possible.
I want my pistol to be on my person, rather than on a shelf or hidden in a drawer. Thats how I choose to live my life, and I feel my quality of life is neither degraded nor inconvenienced. I choose to have a pistol on my person, despite the fact that I realize that the possibilities of using that weapon are statistically slim. If I need it, it's on me. If not, then so be it.
I am giving up nothing, and I do not live in a paronoia clouded fear.
I acknowledge the odds, plan for the worst, and hope for the best.
Take care,
John

 

[JohnKSa]

stratus,

I wasn't really advocating carrying a gun in the shower--and I agree with you that keeping a firearm handy all the time is a lot more reasonable than trying to decide when the situation warrants one.

 

[springmom]

dumb me, but I just have to ask...

...Wouldn't having your gun in the shower be bad for the gun? Hot water, soap, steam, getting on/in the gun?

Mine is on the counter when I'm in the bath or shower, but IN THE SHOWER? Seems to me you're taking a risk damaging the gun, but maybe I'm missing something.

Springmom who would like her gun to stay dry and functional