Guns And Self Defense??

Cold Steel

I know Jehovah's Witnesses can have firearms for defense, but does the church ever attempt to set guidelines on the use of deadly force? Also, are there jurisdictions in the church where handgun ownership is frowned upon?

elderelite

Lol... "can have firearms for selfdefense?" who told you that....? Dubbies cant be gun carrying law officers, let alone own a gun privatly. Hunting is frowned upon. No no no. One wt article said "it may be possible to ward off blows" of an attacker. Self defense is a major no no. A slave of the lord does Not need to fight

Razziel

I'm from Texas, where JW's are pretty liberal with firearms. Rifles and shotguns for hunting were ok, and many owned assault rifles with the same premise, they shoot the same bullets, are semi-auto like hunting rifles, the main difference is how they look. Handguns were still a no-no. Many still owned them but it wasn't something you let become common knowledge. There were a few servants in my congregation who had to sell their handguns to keep their privileges when it became common knowledge they owned them. You can defend yourself with whatever item is laying around, including an item intended for hunting, but you can't have weapons for the expressed purpose of defending yourself. And for JW's, handguns have no other use except taking human life.

Razziel

Speaking of, that's something I never understood. As a teenager, I would housesit for elders while they went on vacations, and those who didn't own guns still had a baseball bat or golf club under the bed in easy reach. I asked myself many times why it was ok to crack someones skull in self-defense with a bat but it wasn't ok to shoot someone for the same reason.

talesin

We don't have many legal handguns here. Hunting for game is common, and having a long gun is not looked down on, or criticized in any way, by the JWs or the general population.

Handguns are only issued by special license, and for shooting on ranges. I only know of one case where a burglar was shot with a handgun. I actually knew the family (it was my mom's hairdresser's husband), and he had a legal handgun by the bedside, and shot an intruder late at night. It turned out to be very sad, as it was a 16 YO neighbour kid, looking to steal a stereo. The shooter was not charged with anything, but was devastated.

Most of the illegal gun shootings are crime-related, by rival crime families, and drug gangs (in my city). Crimes of passion have been committed with long guns (husband shooting wife's boyfriend, and a couple of cases of battered women shootng their husbands).

I'm sure that in the US, it varies, depending on the region. I can't imagine gun owners being frowned upon in Texas, holy smoke! It's TEXAS. :D

xo

tal

Cold Steel

Wait...are you saying that JWs in the U.S. aren't allowed to own handguns? What about the recreational use? Competition? And many JWs have said they were allowed to have them, no problem.

Does anyone know of any situations where someone with a handgun was visited by an elder and told he or she had to get rid of them? What if one had a beautiful Colt Python or Gold Cup? And even if someone told you to get rid of your handguns, how would they ever know? Also, everone has the right to self defense. Would the church really prefer a woman to be raped and murdered rather than have a handgun?

I recall a magazine cover of a beautiful blonde with a stainless Ruger Security-Six .357 w/a 6-inch barrel. Inside was the story of how she saved herself from a known rapist with the Ruger. No one got killed; she held him for the police and actually made him make the phone call. He had a long criminal record and he had been raping women, murdering two. I kept the magazine for a long time (I worked for the National Rifle Association). I talked to many people who had used handguns for personal protection (including Roy Rogers and F. Lee Bailey). None had ever shot anyone much less killed them. I also interviewed people in prison, including some on death row. Many were caught by citizens with handguns.

The idea that handguns are only made for killing people is ridiculous. And no church has the right to tell you you can't own one for defense.

lilbluekitty

JWs aren't allowed to be competitive and their recreation "must be wholesome"...i.e. playing Kingdom songs (their horrid worship music) and reading Awake magazines. I mean yeah most JWs at least watch TV and stuff but really by the book there's not much they're allowed to do for fun.

Yes, they really prefer bad things to happen to people...they call it being "faithful in what is least' or something. IMO God wants us to use common sense. Don't purposely kill someone or try not to but if they have a gun to your kid's head what else can you do? I'd say God would not be happy (to say the least) if your kid did get killed and you did nothing.

Razziel

Sorry man, it's obvious you were never a JW and don't understand the mindset. It's very hard to explain to someone who hasn't experienced it. Yes I know of servants who got outed by family members with guilty consciences because they owned handguns and assault rifles. Had to get rid of them to keep their privileges. Having a gun for competition use is no excuse, because competition sports are all-but-banned for JW's, the rich unbaptized tennis sisters aside. You also couldn't hunt or fish for sport, you hunt or fish for food.

Yes, they would prefer a woman to scream Jehovah's name, then be raped and murdered rather than own a handgun. I can't begin to count how many times the account of Peter cutting off the soldier's ear with a sword in the Garden of Gethsemane, and living by the sword/dying by the sword was quoted in context with owning a weapon for self-defense.

I now own guns, and love to shoot for recreation, though I would still never hunt purely for sport. I'm not defending their views, just telling it how it was.

elderelite

Lolol.... Compition shooting????? Hard to list all thats frowned upon in dubbie land with that. Suffice to say, no way. And as noted, yes, rape is preferable to shooting. A sister can scream run hit her attacker and even lie about having a communicable illness, like AIDS. But carrying a gun would denote a lack of trust in the desert god.

designs

The brother who studied with me, early 60s, had been All Navy Pistol Champ, he taught my brother and I to shoot pistols on his ranch in Colorado.

Guns And Self Defense??

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