Do you feel that civilians always need to be armed?

[RaiderJ]

I take a gun when I'm going camping or something out in the country (I live in Alaska). Have a gun at home for self defense, but don't carry anything otherwise.

People who have CCP's are usually well-trained in their weapons use, and not the ones who cause problems. It's the "tough guys" who carry one around to look tough that can be the problem.

 

[themusgrat]

Originally posted by: Specop 007

Originally posted by: capece

Originally posted by: Specop 007

Originally posted by: capece

Originally posted by: Specop 007

Originally posted by: capece
What always scares me is just how crazy people in general are. And a crazy man with a gun? All it takes is a minute's lapse of insanity for that crazy individual to grab his gun from his glove box and shoot me in the back of the head for accidentally cutting him off. An exaggerated example I suppose, but then again I've seen crazier things...

The idealistic viewpoint of a gun-wielding vigilante citizen stopping a would-be rapist dead in his tracks is, I believe, even more of an exaggeration.

Edit--that should be a minute's lapse of sanity.

Heres a thought....Dont drive like a maniac!!

Imagine that. If your a civil person you dont have to worry about Johnny Crazy deciding to wig out and shoot you!

Anyone remember the thread some time back about the ATOTer that was out for a drive and some guy started ramming his car with a pickup the guy was driving. ATOTer pulled over and crazy guy stepped out with a gun.

I havent forgotten. The ATOTer did NOTHING wrong. It truly was "wrong place, wrong time" and he was caught with his pants down around his ankles.

I'm ALL for gun ownership and carrying.

You say you are all for gun ownership and then give an example where that gun may have caused this individual who did nothing wrong to lose her/his life. It is nice to think that "if I do no harm to others no harm will be done to me." The reality is the world doesn't work like that, as your example shows.

First off in no example did anyone do anything wrong to lose a life.

Secondly, you yourself admit to wreckless behaviour. I was putting your fears at ease. If you dont act like a jerkoff, maybe the guy behind you wouldnt have an urge to shoot you.

Lastly, the other scenario is to showcase that even if you do nothing wrong you can still end up as a victim.

So, dont drive like a jerkoff and your fears are put to rest that the guy behind you will wig out and shoot you for cutting him off, and carry a gun in case the guy behind you ius a certified Graade A psycho and wants to shoot you for no other reason then because your there.

Just one thing: Never did I admit to "wreckless [sic] behaviour." Rather, I wrote, and I quote, "An exaggerated example" to illustrate my opinion.

So your doing what all the scared gun grabbers do an making up worst case fictional scenarios and trying to apply them to real life.

Gotchya.

Well hell, lets just go all out.

What if a satellite carrying cocaine exploded and showered PCP dust down on the entire country. Then everyone would be hopped up and have guns, and when they saw the purple dragons flying around they would want to shoot people to appease their new flying dragon masters!

BAN GUNS!!

Point is your fears are unfounded. You should educate yourself both in firearms crime statistics as well as firearms ownership and realize a firearm is nothing more then a tool. Its no more harmful then a knife, hammer or pencil unless its used inappropriately.

Absolutely wrong, a gun is way more than a tool. Go educate yourself. I support being able to carry, I know that I and the vast majority of people can control ourselves. But remember, humans are human, it is only irresponsibility and a lack of self control that will kill anyone. Letting people carry will not. In fact, statistically, like the above said, letting people carry helps, probably because the thugs know that they aren't the only ones with guns. Think about it.

 

[chambersc]

If you're fine with guns for home protection, how can you be any less fine with guns on a person?

Does the violence end once I leave my house?

 

[jagec]

Let's face it, the world would be a better place if a lot of its population didn't have access to any force multipliers at all...cars, guns, hammers, anything that they could kill someone with while angry. But they've been invented now, so it's too late to try to put the genie back in the bottle. If a CCW program is properly administered, it can work out quite nicely. More so in less densely populated or more homogeneous areas, of course.

 

[PrinceofWands]

I don't think everyone NEEDS to be armed, but I believe everyone has the RIGHT to be armed if they choose.

Having a gun escalates nothing, unless you bring it into play. If someone comes up to you with a gun already out just don't draw. It isn't rocket science. But if a situation feels bad you can be more prepared and possibly prevent a tragedy (no, I never view the death of a criminal as a tragedy).

If someone comes up without a gun out and demands my wallet or money I will refuse. I will fight him using every ounce of strength and skill I possess. I am under no requirement to surrender my personal property (and if I was I would still refuse). That still doesn't cause me to draw however. When a weapon comes into play (or is reasonable to assume) THEN I will draw if it's possible to do so safely. Then it's no longer the criminal demanding material things, it's a criminal trying to kill me. That's when it's ok to end them. I didn't escalate anything, however, they did.

That's just my opinion on the issue, but it's an opinon that I will support (unless someone changes my mind) to the death.

 

[dxkj]

I would imagine there would be far less violent crimes if everyone carried guns... hardly worth risking your life/committing murder to steal a few dollars.

HOWEVER

Without proper training there would be a lot more accidental deaths/injuries, and more spur of the moment angry killings


good > bad IMO

I would conceal carry if it was legal in my state.

 

[dxkj]

Originally posted by: SViper
But say for instance your attacker just wants the money you have on you. Would it be worth your life to pull a weapon out instead of giving him/her your money?

Think about it... does carrying a gun mean you HAVE to use it?

So in that instance, do the same thing you would if you didnt have a gun. Toss your wallet across to him, let him pick it up and leave... If he doesnt go for the wallet, you know he means violent, so shoot him.

 

[ElMonoDelMar]

I'll be getting my CCW permit at the start of next year and I can't even carry in my state.

I feel that the right to carry is so important that I am willing to dish out the time and money to get a permit that I won't even be able to use 99% of the time.

 

[BigJ]

Want to know what happens when you know the population isn't going to be armed, like in a college town?

You have almost a dozen robberies, a string of break ins, and assault all in the span of two weeks. Welcome to College Park, Maryland.

 

[ElMonoDelMar]

Originally posted by: BigJ
Want to know what happens when you know the population isn't going to be armed, like in a college town?

You have almost a dozen robberies, a string of break ins, and assault all in the span of two weeks. Welcome to College Park, Maryland.

Exactly. I just went down to check my mail and I saw a wanted flyer over all of the mail boxes. It looks like someone tried to rape some girl in my apartment complex. Luckily her screeming attracted some neighbors who scared the guy off. It's probably good I don't live next to her because I would have come to her aid with either my pistol or my shotgun.

Point is, unarmed people are easy prey for rapists and thugs.

 

[LeadMagnet]

civilians should NEVER be armed. I think all hand guns and any weapon that can shoot more than 1 round per second or carry more that 5 rounds should be made illegal

 

[kingtas]

An armed population can stop an attack in progress. The police mostly investigate the crime after the fact and if lucky, get a conviction.

They serve to the best of their ability but they can't be everywhere so I don't think the "to protect" really applies.

 

[nissan720]

Originally posted by: LeadMagnet
civilians should NEVER be armed. I think all hand guns and any weapon that can shoot more than 1 round per second or carry more that 5 rounds should be made illegal

Wow, Just wow... I want to know where you live? Is law enforcement that great in your area that you call them and they are there within a minute?

Why 1 round per second? Did you know that an police officer is trained to place his hand on his gun if you are within 21 feet. That is because someone who wants to attack him can cover ~21 feet in the time it takes him to draw his gun and fire.

Why 5 rounds? Did you know if an police officer usually only hits 2 times out of 10 in a shootout and neither of those are fatal.

I just want to know your reasoning.

 

[Atheus]

The thing is, there are only two truly workable situations. Either everyone has a firearm, or no one does. Anything else creates a huge gap in power betwen those who choose to carry and those who don't. Since there are likely to be many more violent deaths in the 'everyone' society than the 'no one' societly, I reckon the latter is probably the best way to go...

There could be exceptions of cource, for sports and maybe home defence - if you've gone through a difficult licencing process.

//my perfect world

 

[ElMonoDelMar]

Originally posted by: Atheus
The thing is, there are only two truly workable situations. Either everyone has a firearm, or no one does. Anything else creates a huge gap in power betwen those who choose to carry and those who don't. Since there are likely to be many more violent deaths in the 'everyone' society than the 'no one' societly, I reckon the latter is probably the best way to go...

There could be exceptions of cource, for sports and maybe home defence - if you've gone through a difficult licencing process.

//my perfect world

So in your prefect world there wouldn't be strong and weak people? There will always be a power gap between people. A gun can help the weaker person bridge that gap.

"God made all Men, Samuel Colt made them equal."

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: LeadMagnet
civilians should NEVER be armed. I think all hand guns and any weapon that can shoot more than 1 round per second or carry more that 5 rounds should be made illegal

Did you know..:

That I can legally carry my 1911A1 openly in New Hampshire -- Vermont -- Maine -- Alaska -- Arizona, etc, with no permit of any kind? Where's the outspread crime committed by legal handgun owners? Did you know that licensed CCW holders are among the least likely members of the population to commit violent crime?

 

[sao123]

I'm in favor of deadly force against all criminal activity... even petty theft. I think everyone should carry a gun. Once victinm and criminal are on equal ground, then crime rates will drop.

if more criminals got shot... i think they'd think twice before robbing or killing someone.
Criminals get off too easy now because the victims have no good course of action.
Cant shoot or otherwise hurt them, you'll get sued or arrested. The police rarely find out who committed an anonymous crime. There is nothing for the victim except frustration.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

On the TX DPS website it has the statistics for crime and ccw owners. 247,000 licensed individuals

Number of murders committed by a license holder = 1
Number of robberies committed by a license holder = 0
Number of burglaries committed by a license holder = 3

 

[everman]

Originally posted by: CadetLee

Originally posted by: LeadMagnet
civilians should NEVER be armed. I think all hand guns and any weapon that can shoot more than 1 round per second or carry more that 5 rounds should be made illegal

Did you know..:

That I can legally carry my 1911A1 openly in New Hampshire -- Vermont -- Maine -- Alaska -- Arizona, etc, with no permit of any kind? Where's the outspread crime committed by legal handgun owners? Did you know that licensed CCW holders are among the least likely members of the population to commit violent crime?

Although it's technically legal, I'm sure you'd probably have the cops called on you pretty quickly and most likely get arrested.

Personally I see no problem with letting trained citizens carry firearms as long as they don't have a history of violent crime.

 

[ElMonoDelMar]

Originally posted by: everman
Although it's technically legal, I'm sure you'd probably have the cops called on you pretty quickly and most likely get arrested.

Personally I see no problem with letting trained citizens carry firearms as long as they don't have a history of violent crime.

People do it all the time without getting arrested. Sure, sometimes the cops get called, but most of the time the cops know the law.

 

[adairusmc]

Originally posted by: CadetLee

Originally posted by: LeadMagnet
civilians should NEVER be armed. I think all hand guns and any weapon that can shoot more than 1 round per second or carry more that 5 rounds should be made illegal

Did you know..:

That I can legally carry my 1911A1 openly in New Hampshire -- Vermont -- Maine -- Alaska -- Arizona, etc, with no permit of any kind? Where's the outspread crime committed by legal handgun owners? Did you know that licensed CCW holders are among the least likely members of the population to commit violent crime?

Of course he doesnt know that, he is blind to the facts.

I am all for carrying. An armed person is a Citizen, an unarmed person is a subject.


"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin

 

[adairusmc]

Originally posted by: everman

Originally posted by: CadetLee

Originally posted by: LeadMagnet
civilians should NEVER be armed. I think all hand guns and any weapon that can shoot more than 1 round per second or carry more that 5 rounds should be made illegal

Did you know..:

That I can legally carry my 1911A1 openly in New Hampshire -- Vermont -- Maine -- Alaska -- Arizona, etc, with no permit of any kind? Where's the outspread crime committed by legal handgun owners? Did you know that licensed CCW holders are among the least likely members of the population to commit violent crime?

Although it's technically legal, I'm sure you'd probably have the cops called on you pretty quickly and most likely get arrested.

Umm, no.

 

[Raduque]

Originally posted by: iamaelephant
Thankfully I live in a country where the answer is a resounding "Hell no."

Originally posted by: LeadMagnet
civilians should NEVER be armed. I think all hand guns and any weapon that can shoot more than 1 round per second or carry more that 5 rounds should be made illegal

Yea, you two idiots who live in Lala Land can rely on some underpaid, underappreciated stranger to defend you. Good luck with that. Police are only truely useful after the fact. An armed civilian with the training and expertise is useful during.

As for me, I'm relying on the only person I trust: Myself.



Edit: for redundancy