@stux

In this thread you seemed to condemn weapons, but in the other one you seemed to promote them.

(ps - I support providing Ukraine with whatever they need to defeat Putin.)

@Pat 'Promoting' weapons for personal use or for use in a war are very much different in my book

Without weapons a war would be much much harder to even start, but we do have them so the only way they should be used are in situations like Ukraine

Not to shoot your neighbours

@stux

Sometimes people find themselves in situations or places where there is a real danger from other people and there is little or no help from police. So in those situations, I think it makes sense for them to be able to have weapons to defend themselves against aggressors, just like Ukraine is defending itself from an aggressor.

@Pat Sure!

But the huge difference is the training!

Soldiers know how to handle weapons and more importantly, WHEN 😉

People can defend themselfs in many other ways but many are not equiped to handle a weapon or make those decisions

Plus, it does not outweigh the risk, benefit factor by a loooooong shot

Stuff goes wrong by accident etc much to often, and i have a feeling there would be a lot less of such agressive attacks if the weapons aren't all around

In the supermarket for example hah

@stux

>"But the huge difference is the training!"

>"Soldiers know how to handle weapons and more importantly, WHEN "

Competence and safety are imperative when handling weapons.

Apparently Putin and many Russian troops do not have the proper training and discipline because they committed horrible acts in Ukraine.

>"People can defend themselfs in many other ways but many are not equiped to handle a weapon or make those decisions"

I think more effort should go into the development of non-lethal weapons. Eventually, if effective non-lethal weapons could be developed and made available, then lethal weapons would no longer be necessary.

>"Plus, it does not outweigh the risk, benefit factor by a loooooong shot"

On average in the US this is true. People who keep firearms are more likely to end up hurting themselves or a loved one. That's because a lot of people don't have the proper training.

But in areas where there is a high risk from aggressors, then the risk from those aggressors is much higher. So in those cases it makes sense, and if someone has the proper training.