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Carrying a concealed handgun

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Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone
Originally posted by: Soybomb

The problem I see with that though is criminals don't just go after people with large amount of cash. They go after anyone for their wallet or their car, anyone just because they're crazy and want to hurt people, young women for an easy rape target, etc. Aren't the bad things that happen everyday to good people all the reason a person needs? You're unlikely to need a gun going to college, but if you were sitting in a VT class room that day you might have needed one even if you were the local amateur boxing champion. Would the situation have been made worse if one of those students had been armed?
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I'd far rather give up a wallet or a car than kill someone, even if it's someone who richly deserves it. As I said, I've been mugged at knifepoint, and my feeling is that the situation would only have been worsened if I had been carrying at the time. Obviously there is SOME risk that some rogue criminal might kill me for no reason, but it has never happened to anyone I've known, nor anyone in my family. I would just as soon take that chance and be able to relax with my coworkers over a beer after work, rather than living in a constant state of vigilance.
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As would I, just because you're carrying doesn't mean you have to use it everytime you're threatened. Each situation would have to be evaluated differently. I don't believe that I like the thought of relying on criminals good nature to do me no harm though. Why not have some options if you feel the situation warrants them? You don't only prepare for things that have happened to you or your family do you? No one in my family has lost a house to fire but you wouldn't say I'm paranoid for keeping a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and insurance policy would you?

Do you walk around with a hardhat on? Because your chances of getting hit from falling bricks on dilapidated buildings is higher than being shot.
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I'd like to see your data, could you provide me a source? I can cite studies from the department of justice or FSU criminology department studies showing somewhere between 1.5-2 million defensive gun uses each year in the US. If there are 1.5 million people injured by falling building bricks each year I might investigate the hard hat market. Watching the news each night and seeing the number of people injured by criminals and the number injured by falling bricks seems to show that your statistic is probably either wrong or misleading.
 
Originally posted by: Soybomb

As would I, just because you're carrying doesn't mean you have to use it everytime you're threatened. Each situation would have to be evaluated differently. I don't believe that I like the thought of relying on criminals good nature to do me no harm though. Why not have some options if you feel the situation warrants them? You don't only prepare for things that have happened to you or your family do you? No one in my family has lost a house to fire but you wouldn't say I'm paranoid for keeping a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and insurance policy would you?
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Why are you trying to convince me? I don't care if you carry a weapon or not. I choose to leave mine at home.
 
Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone
Originally posted by: Soybomb

As would I, just because you're carrying doesn't mean you have to use it everytime you're threatened. Each situation would have to be evaluated differently. I don't believe that I like the thought of relying on criminals good nature to do me no harm though. Why not have some options if you feel the situation warrants them? You don't only prepare for things that have happened to you or your family do you? No one in my family has lost a house to fire but you wouldn't say I'm paranoid for keeping a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and insurance policy would you?
Click to expand...

Why are you trying to convince me? I don't care if you carry a weapon or not. I choose to leave mine at home.
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Just really an academic thing, I think its interesting how people view risk and crime and can arrive at things like how someone might be safe enough without certain other risks or what they view as paranoid.
 
Originally posted by: Soybomb
I'd like to see your data, could you provide me a source? I can cite studies from the department of justice or FSU criminology department studies showing somewhere between 1.5-2 million defensive gun uses each year in the US. If there are 1.5 million people injured by falling building bricks each year I might investigate the hard hat market. Watching the news each night and seeing the number of people injured by criminals and the number injured by falling bricks seems to show that your statistic is probably either wrong or misleading.
Click to expand...

Can you post the link to this data about 1.5-2 million defensive gun uses each year? I find it hard to believe.

 
Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
Originally posted by: Soybomb
I'd like to see your data, could you provide me a source? I can cite studies from the department of justice or FSU criminology department studies showing somewhere between 1.5-2 million defensive gun uses each year in the US. If there are 1.5 million people injured by falling building bricks each year I might investigate the hard hat market. Watching the news each night and seeing the number of people injured by criminals and the number injured by falling bricks seems to show that your statistic is probably either wrong or misleading.
Click to expand...

Can you post the link to this data about 1.5-2 million defensive gun uses each year? I find it hard to believe.
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You can look it up yourself you know.
 
Originally posted by: Soybomb
Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone
Originally posted by: Soybomb

As would I, just because you're carrying doesn't mean you have to use it everytime you're threatened. Each situation would have to be evaluated differently. I don't believe that I like the thought of relying on criminals good nature to do me no harm though. Why not have some options if you feel the situation warrants them? You don't only prepare for things that have happened to you or your family do you? No one in my family has lost a house to fire but you wouldn't say I'm paranoid for keeping a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and insurance policy would you?
Click to expand...

Why are you trying to convince me? I don't care if you carry a weapon or not. I choose to leave mine at home.
Click to expand...

Just really an academic thing, I think its interesting how people view risk and crime and can arrive at things like how someone might be safe enough without certain other risks or what they view as paranoid.
Click to expand...

Respectfully, I have worked a great deal as a criminal prosecutor and defense attorney - I have actually sent someone to prison for life - and my mother has been a judge for 24 years. I feel as though I have an unusual level of experience with crime and risk, yet I reach a different conclusion than you. FWIW, I never said YOU were paranoid, just that that had been my experience with most people who carry. At the end of the day I could hardly care less whether you carry or not - it has nothing at all to do with me.
 
Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
Originally posted by: Soybomb
I'd like to see your data, could you provide me a source? I can cite studies from the department of justice or FSU criminology department studies showing somewhere between 1.5-2 million defensive gun uses each year in the US. If there are 1.5 million people injured by falling building bricks each year I might investigate the hard hat market. Watching the news each night and seeing the number of people injured by criminals and the number injured by falling bricks seems to show that your statistic is probably either wrong or misleading.
Click to expand...

Can you post the link to this data about 1.5-2 million defensive gun uses each year? I find it hard to believe.
Click to expand...
Remember that a defensive gun use don't mean that someone got shot, usually when someone shows that they're willing to fight back the other party backs down and the confrontation ends.

2 million - Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz , Armed Resistance to Crime: The Prevalence and Nature of Self-Defense with a Gun, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 1995, Vol. 86 No. 1.

1.5 million 1994, DoJ Guns in America: National Survey on Private Ownership and Use of Firearms
 
I just turned 21 recently and have started to put money aside to get one. And I want to start hunting! I need me some venison!
 
Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone
Originally posted by: Soybomb

The problem I see with that though is criminals don't just go after people with large amount of cash. They go after anyone for their wallet or their car, anyone just because they're crazy and want to hurt people, young women for an easy rape target, etc. Aren't the bad things that happen everyday to good people all the reason a person needs? You're unlikely to need a gun going to college, but if you were sitting in a VT class room that day you might have needed one even if you were the local amateur boxing champion. Would the situation have been made worse if one of those students had been armed?
Click to expand...

I'd far rather give up a wallet or a car than kill someone, even if it's someone who richly deserves it. As I said, I've been mugged at knifepoint, and my feeling is that the situation would only have been worsened if I had been carrying at the time. Obviously there is SOME risk that some rogue criminal might kill me for no reason, but it has never happened to anyone I've known, nor anyone in my family. I would just as soon take that chance and be able to relax with my coworkers over a beer after work, rather than living in a constant state of vigilance.
Click to expand...

Don Vito is on the money there...it's the idiot that wants to get in a gun fight out in public over a stolen car. If you can't afford full coverage, you really shouldn't be buying guns in the first place.

Those that carry and know WTF they are dealing with will give up a wallet, their car, bike, etc...it's all usually insured or easily replaced. If they had been carrying a huge amount of cash then it may make sense to draw...if they feel they are going to be shot anyway, likewise. Most will try to find a way out first rather than shooting.

Just whipping out their gun and shooting away is how idiot gun users get their friends and family hurt.

Most criminals are not going to carry a gun if they are going after small robbery...most aren't going to risk a mandatory 10 years, however; everyone's experience is different. I am betting most that carry guns today will never put themselves in a situation off that beaten path to ever need their gun for defense and in that that gun becomes a total liability.
 
What I don't understand is many of the same people who say things like "Just give the criminal your money if he mugs you, you never know he might have a gun" or "Don't engage in road rage, you never know if the other guy has a gun" suspend that thinking when it comes to hypotheticals for CCW'ers. i.e., wouldn't one be thinking the same thing of a private citizen in a CCW state - they might have a gun, so don't consider robbing them.

I'd be interested in seeing crime rates/instances of road rage in CCW states compared to other states, as well as overall trends over time
 
I will be getting a CCW as soon as I turn 21. My mom was shot and killed by a gang member, he was never caught. Best the detectives could figure was it was so he could get in the gang or something, she was not robbed.

My reasoning for getting a gun is simple: I want the chance, and I want to give my future family a chance. My mom had no option, no means to fight back, I'm not going to let that happen to a member of my family or myself. Of course I have never personally been in that situation, but I've dealt with this since I was 6 and believe I will have zero problem pulling the trigger to protect a loved one or myself. Some that have shot someone may think differently, but I won't know unless I am faced with the situation... hopefully i never will have to, but I am not going to take the chance.
 
I carry a concealed firearm every day for protection. I personally wish more responsible gun owners would carry their weapons. As was said earlier in the post, there is much evidence that criminals are more afraid of armed citizens than the police. It is also important to note that our police are not obligated to protect you.

Probably the biggest disadvantage I see towards carrying a handgun is the fact that the weapon you're carrying could very well become a disadvantage. Without proper vigilance and defense it can easily be taken away by an assailant. Also, if the time comes that you do have to use the handgun and take someone's life, you will be charged with a homicide in some shape or form. You had better hope you were able to act concisely and completely lawful in this high stress situation.
 
Originally posted by: Flyback
Originally posted by: Soybomb

The problem I see with that though is criminals don't just go after people with large amount of cash. They go after anyone for their wallet or their car, anyone just because they're crazy and want to hurt people, young women for an easy rape target, etc. Aren't the bad things that happen everyday to good people all the reason a person needs? You're unlikely to need a gun going to college, but if you were sitting in a VT class room that day you might have needed one even if you were the local amateur boxing champion. Would the situation have been made worse if one of those students had been armed?

I'm in my 20s and unlikely to have health problems but have health insurance. My house probably won't burn down but I get home owners insurance. I probably won't be in a car wreck but I wear a seat belt. Why if I slip a few ounces of metal in my pocket do I turn into a paranoid geek who can't fight versus taking a small but reasonable precaution against an unlikely event with high stakes like I am with the others?
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Do you walk around with a hardhat on? Because your chances of getting hit from falling bricks on dilapidated buildings is higher than being shot.
Click to expand...


Guess we better ban those bricks right quick then! Think of the CHILDREN - NO MORE BRICKS!!!
 
I pack and if i need to draw , itll be to pull the trigger i will protect my family and friends.

if you think its ridiculous to be able to protect yorself then maybe you should pull your head out of your ass and go suckle your mommy
 
Well the poll has surprisingly shown the opposity of what I expected. Could it be that the older people are the more they've grown up with their exposure to gun information being the news? The media has a tendency to print firearms information that ranges from inaccurate to lies and deceptive statistics from gun control organizations. Are the younger kids today getting more of their information for the internet and able to view information from both sides and make their own judgement? I also find the "topic rating" of 1 star with 4 votes to be a little interesting. Thanks for voting!
 
Originally posted by: Soybomb
Well the poll has surprisingly shown the opposity of what I expected. Could it be that the older people are the more they've grown up with their exposure to gun information being the news? The media has a tendency to print firearms information that ranges from inaccurate to lies and deceptive statistics from gun control organizations. Are the younger kids today getting more of their information for the internet and able to view information from both sides and make their own judgement? I also find the "topic rating" of 1 star with 4 votes to be a little interesting. Thanks for voting!
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What did you expect? When I look at the results, it seems no matter what age, people understand why some people would. It seems the ratio of people who think it is ridiculous is similar through all three age brackets.

EDIT: Oh yea, for my answer. 24, and I understand why people would. I would not carry all the time even if I could.

I do carry a 357magnum though when I go to the forest during hikes/camping since I don't think bears or big cats would have an interest in my wallet/cell phone.
 
"I'm 21 or younger and I can understand why people would carry a concealed handgun"
 
What did you expect? When I look at the results, it seems no matter what age, people understand why some people would. It seems the ratio of people who think it is ridiculous is similar through all three age brackets.
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I expected the opposite, I expected the younger readers to be more gum drops and unicorns thinkers where they thought the world was a fine place and no one needed guns and I expected the older people to have been the victims of crime themselves or known people that were and more open to it.

Currently 5% of 21 and under say ridiculous, 11.5% of those 22-30, and 18% of those over 30 agree. 126 votes is a small sample but I think there is something of a trend there.
 
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