Amish will not bear arms against others, but they do use firearms for hunting and other purposes
The Amish belief in nonresistance mean Amish will not serve in the military, law enforcement, or in any other position that requires them to use firearms against other people. Yet Amish are not strangers to guns.
In fact, many Amish homes contain weapons. Farmers in particular keep guns at home, in order to shoot pests. A Pennsylvania produce farmer uses his shotgun to clear his fields of groundhogs and other pests, for example.
Amish and hunting
Many Amish are also avid hunters. Some Amish have gun collections, and may take hunting trips locally, to land owned for hunting located outside of a settlement, or in some cases, out-of-state. A few Amish even make trips to the Western states for big game hunting.
Amish generally see little harm in hunting . Hunting allows Amish to enjoy nature. It also fulfills a practical purpose in that game shot can be used to feed the family. However, some Amish have objected to the practice of purchasing expensive hunting equipment.
For more information, see:
Amish Online Encyclopedia: Do Amish hunt?
21 responses to Do Amish use guns?
Well done and informative. As a Quaker, we also will not bear arms against others. Personally I hate guns because of the violence it has created in our country.
I tell everyone I know that with cell phones, and with 911 service, professional help is only minute away, so the talk of protecting oneself is no longer a good argument. More people, often children, are hurt by guns in the home than any cases of actually protecting oneself.
Do Amish use guns?
911 ??? yeah right, when seconds count the police are only minutes away. The police usually show up just in time to pick up the pieces
Ignorant statement Bob...
Because you can dial 911, guns are no longer needed for self defense? Are you joking? How did dialing 911 help those ten Amish school girls who were shot to death at school. The police were able to bring the coroner, which is the most they can do in any situation like that. It is your responsibilty to take care of your family! You can call the cops and hope everyhting is ok, I will bear arms and KNOW that they will be!
Do Amish use guns?
A gun is a tool, just as a hammer, or an axe. Amish people are not violent. Guns are used for hunting food, not for violent purposes.
Do you hate hammers, axes, ice picks, screw drivers? (some of the most grisley murders have been committed with common tools everyone has in their tool box. What about knives? Do you cut your meat with scissors? Forget about calling 911 if someone is trying to kill you or your family. Your best defense is to hide silently. Instant response is impossible. Also the police can’t arrest a criminal until AFTER they have committed a crime.
Do Amish use guns?
Help is only a minute away??
I would have to disagree with your theory that police help is only a minute away. Most police respond after the incident and are not at your side like you would want them to be. There are numerous cases of a gun saving a persons life because of a lack of instant police protection. One of the first things that you would want to do in order to take over a society is to disarm it. Do some reading and you will find out that country’s that are lead by a dictator were disarmed first. Besides criminals will always have guns to use on the populace simply because they ignore the laws. I would say that an armed society is a more peaceful one. I have been carrying a handgun for over thirty years and thankfully I have never had to use it, but if I were ever in a dangerous situation I have the peace of mind that I could defend myself and family. Regards
Do Amish use guns?
Hypocrisy
So you rely on someone else’s gun (ie. police officer) to protect you.
Profession help only a minute away
to the post we don’t need guns. just call 911 on your cell and helps a minit away. that depends on were you live. We don’t have cell service here and the closest police station is 25 miles away. me and my wife would be long dead if an attacker came and we weren’t armed!!
Nonsense
RE: Bob Rosier
I was once at a Blockbuster video store during an armed robbery. The guy robbing the store held a gun to a two year old’s head to motivate the employees to move faster. You often don’t know how you will react to a situation until you find yourself in it. It turns out when I saw a little girl being held at gun point P****D ME OFF. I couldn’t hide my anger. When he told us to get on the floor as he was on his way out with the contents of the safe, he told us to put our heads down. I wanted to make sure to remember his face as clearly as possible in case he got caught later, so I kept staring at him. As he was leaving the store he pointed the gun in my direction and fired a shot over my head. I just thank God that he didn’t actually hurt anybody. If he started shooting people, I’m sure I would want either myself or somebody else present armed, not just for my protection, but for others as well.
Here in the wonderful city of Milwaukee the store manager called 911, stated there was an armed robber who had just robbed them and fired a shot. Guess how long it took for them to bother to show up? 45 MINUTES! (Is that what you mean when you state that police are available in a manner of minutes?) People need to have some common sense instead of coming from an emotional fantasy point of view, ie, “I don’t like violence”. Neither do I, but despite me not wanting to be in that situation… it happened none the less.
If someone broke into my house at 2am and wanted to do harm to my family, I’d rather spend my life feeling a little guilt from being armed and ridding the world of an evil person that meant innocents harm rather than being unarmed and spending the rest of my life wondering if I could have done something to protect myself or my family. I do not advocate people that don’t have proper training handling firearms, but to disarm law abiding citizens of arms that they have the right by our Constitution to own is just plain dumb.
People are so paranoid. You are more likely to be killed by a bee sting than you are by these “mass shootings” that the media and politicians use to push their disarmament agenda. Wake up America! Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot disarmed their people before committing mass genocide. The #1 cause of death other than natural causes in the last century is DEMOCIDE, or in other words, death by government. Don’t take my word for it. Do your own research. More guns owned by responsible people = lower crime rate. Go to fbi.gov and look at the statistics. As gun ownership has been less restrictive over the last 10 years, the violent crime rate has gone down dramatically. We need to start being adults and not children living in a fantasy world. Is having a gun a 100% solution to these problems? No, but at least I have a fighting chance. I choose to live in freedom and self-preservation rather than living in fear and holding others responsible for my safety.
Do Amish use guns?
Bob,
So you are happy to call in the thugs (AKA police) to do your dirty work for you?
Yes, guns “cause” violence. Because there was less violence before guns existed, and criminals would not be violent if they didn’t have guns. :rolleyes:
When seconds count, police are minutes away. Average response time to call is 5 minutes. How is that useful- at all? I carry a firearm because those who intend to do harm take no break for me to dial a number and for police to arrive.
Life is, above all, sacred. It is the highest value in our world. And it should be protected as such. Those who take lives without cause will continue to do so, they must be stopped with force. So why wait for three murders to lead to an arrest, when you can stop it before one?
Do Amish use guns?
Comment on Do Amish use guns?
Reply to: “Yes, guns “cause” violence…” Ignorance is bliss it sounds like Alan. You think there was less violence pre-gunpowder? Ha! There were many other weapons of choice that merely evened the playing field, and the key is the PERSON holding ANY weapon is the CAUSE of violence…be it a gun, knife, sword, hammer, pick, club, spear…(this could take a while). The tree was NOT the CAUSE of the severe clubbing of the victim now was it? Think…period!
Do Amish use guns?
Amish/Mennonites and Guns
In Genesis, when the population on the earth was 4, there was a 25% murder rate. It is the evil in one’s marrow that kills.
Mennonites realize that tools can be used for what they were designed, whether it be a hammer to build a house, or a gun to hunt a deer to feed your family; or these tools can be used for murder and mayhem. Mennonites and Amish don’t buy guns to protect their property, except for the miscellaneous miscreant groundhog. We can tell the difference. It is important to know how to use and store your firearms, and Mennonites and Amish do.
Do Amish use guns?
amish and guns
Living where I do out in the middle of no where and the boonies on the corner of the sticks and bfe.. the response time when we have had to call the sheriff or for matter of argument the emergency squad our average wait time was an HOUR AND HALF! Now had someone been causing harm or trying to kill us or someone seriously hurt we would be in big trouble. My not so nice neighbor (not amish by a long shot more like ignorant poor excuse of a human being) was knowingly shooting a high powered gun towards our home while knowing we were outside with our 2 year old son, his bullets just so happen to come onto our property (maybe because he was shooting purposibly in this direction) and hit something close to where my husband and 2 year old son were standing and it bounced off and hit something else you could hear it. THANK GOD my 2 year old got scared when the 2nd shot happen and came running scared looking for mommy on the other side of our house. my husband said the bullet hit right where our son had been standing and my husband had been right there but dove into the ditch he had been digging. Then there was another event similar same neighbor its just crazy. we moved into the country to get away from the crazy city violence and happen upon this crazy neighbor and one other 4 houses up. Other than that its wonderful mostly amish all around see buggys go by all the time or just them riding horses. My thing is we dont own a gun have never wanted one for fear of my sons safety. I have been rethinking this with some issues we have had since living here. then also have the reality of if we have to put a horse down we have to always call someone when that time comes because we humanely put them down ourselves so they can be donated to a wild cat rescue sanctuary so their loss isnt in vain. I can see both sides of the fence about guns for defense being good and bad. Just wanted to get it known that response time even with a cell phone is not always quick. Even the sheriff the other day told us to protect ourselves and property as if in fear of our lives with what the neighbors are stalking us and doing…..he said usually cant get to us any sooner than an hour to an hour and half!
Do Amish use guns?
Gun not bad
Guns don’t cause vilence or crimes! I own 200 weapons, and raised
4 kids without one mishap. I carry consealed 24/7, and never shot
anyone. It’s people that are a danger if not trained or just bad
to start with.
DID THE AMISH KILL A YOUNG MAN IN TRUMBELL COUNTY WHILE OUT HUNTING?
On January 10,2012, a young man from Brooklyn, Ohio was shot in Trumbell County while supposedly he was hunting. Details are sketchy about the shooting and authorities are saying that it was accidental. However, the caller’s name was DAN MILLER (an AMISH name) and he mentioned that his brother had shot someone 45 minutes prior to the call.Also in another article online, a JAMES MILLER mentioned that he was out hunting with his 15 yr old son.So do the AMISH use guns…absolutely. There are so many CRIMES being committed by the AMISH and they believe that they are EXEMPT from the law.I believe that the young man was killed by one of the AMISH folks and his orange vest and gun may have been stolen by the AMISH folks or someone else. There are too many inconsistencies in the information that is being put on into the media. Also, the authorities in TRUMBELL COUNTY are not releasing the name of the SHOOTER. Is this possible because the shooter might be an AMISH. What I have learned about the AMISH and the MENNONITE but especially the AMISH, it seems like they think that the government can’t touch them under any circumstances. So do the AMISH use guns? ABSOLUTELY, and they hate the ENGLISH (those folks who are not AMISH). They should all be put in jail for suspicion. The AMISH want to use the ENGLISH but they hate us all!!!
Do Amish use guns?
I’ve heard there was a shooting as well, but I haven’t seen much reported on identity yet. It’s possible the person was Amish, though being named Miller does not automatically = Amish
http://www.tribune-chronicle.com/page/content.detail/id/566430/Man-dies-in-woods–video-.html?nav=5021
Much of what you are saying (Amish hate us all, etc) is ridiculous. Take a deep breath.
Amish and guns
Erik, in regards to the the incident in Trumbull Co, OH, I’m trying to get some clarity from a third party. I am related to the victim, and investigators are not very forthcoming with some of even the most basic questions my family has. So, in general:
With your experience with the Amish and firearms, are you familiar with what types of muzzleloaders they own? Do they tend to use older types, i.e. smooth bore flintlock, or are some not opposed to using newer rifled types? Do any that you’ve come across use scopes or optics? I noticed the scoped rifle in a picture in one the other pages here, though I’m unaware if this picture is from your experiences or just a stock photo.
Do Amish use guns?
Amish firearms models
Nic, I am sorry to hear about your family’s loss. The photo you are referencing is a stock photo. I wish I knew more on firearms specifics but do not. I do know there are Amish-owned shops which sell scopes and optic devices and as far as I know (at least some) Amish would not have anything against using them.
One idea might be to post your question on any of the following posts (regarding the Dec. Holmes County shooting)–this blog has some Amish and former Amish readers, who sometimes comment and might be able to answer:
http://amishamerica.com/ohio-amish-shooting-explained/
http://amishamerica.com/amish-shooting-accident/
http://amishamerica.com/ohio-amish-girl-shot-killed/
Do Amish use guns?
Thanks, I appreciate the input
Hunting
Nic, I am sorry for your loss. It appears to me to be a tragic hunting accident. Amish people do use antique as well as modern guns for HUNTING FOOD, not for killing people. Amish people are not violent. Hunting and fishing are simply a way of supplementing the family food supply. Wild game and home raised meat are much more healthful than meat from a store.
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