Why I won’t get a gun for self-defence

My family and I have been victims of violent crime many times. My car has been hijacked, our home invaded by armed robbers, and, most terrifyingly of all, my daughter was shot in the hand by an armed gang that had followed us from the airport. This happened after I reversed out of my driveway and into the street to try to escape the attack. 

But I will not get a gun for self-defence. 

When I look back at each and every incident where my family was confronted by armed criminals, I cannot see how having a gun would have helped us escape. I cannot see how, when surprised by a group of armed criminals who have chosen the time and the place to attack us, I could have used my gun in self-defence.

What I can see is how my having a gun would have made the situation much more dangerous for myself and my family. If I had tried to defend myself, the criminals would have shot at us, as they did when I drove away — which means I, or even worse, my wife or children, or a passer-by could have been shot and killed. 

The criminals would most likely also have stolen my gun to commit further crimes against other families.

I am a husband and father and I treasure my family and my relationship with my family. A gun in my home will change that. Guns change people and how they interact. Imagine my wife and I have a fight, I don’t think she will feel safe expressing her anger or frustration when I have a gun on my hip. The same with my children. I don’t want my family to feel scared and intimidated by me. 

I don’t want this artificial peace in my home. I want honesty and trust in my family.

I am also actively involved in my community and chair my local Community Policing Forum. I do this because I want to be part of a community that cares, that looks after one another. Having a gun promotes individualism, a belief that you are on your own and that no one will assist you. 

That’s not a community I want to live in.  

Crime is high in South Africa, and all of us are looking for ways to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Wanting to get a gun for self-defence seems logical, it makes you feel empowered and that you are doing something to keep you and your loved ones safe. 

But this feeling is false. 

While a gun may make you feel safer, it does not actually make you safer. In fact, it increases the risk to you, your family and your community.

The crimes that my family and I have survived are not on-screen acting, and I am not Rambo or Chuck Norris who can successfully defend my loved ones against a group of armed attackers. 

And neither are you. DM/MC