Forums >Gears and Wears>What caliber gun do you carry?
And other than as military cop I have never had to draw mine either. And I have never had to use my fire insurance either, but I still buy it each year. How is it you haven't known ANYONE who was robbed, broken into raped or car jacked?
And other than as military cop I have never had to draw mine either. And I have never had to use my fire insurance either, but I still buy it each year.
How is it you haven't known ANYONE who was robbed, broken into raped or car jacked?
Yes, being Canadian helps.
Seriously, though, I have known people who have had their houses broken into (when they were not home), have been in physical altercations, etc., but nobody I know has ever been motivated to carry a weapon as potentially lethal as a handgun on their person. It just seems like such an extreme to me.
If that's what you need to do to feel safe walking down the street, then I guess that's your decision... but it makes things kind of terrifying for the rest of us. I see no rational reason for people to be walking around packing heat on a day-to-day basis.
"Because in the end, you won't remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain."
Jack Kerouac
Feeling the growl again
Perhaps the problem is not those of us that choose to carry a concealed weapon, but the irrational fear that you have any reason to be terrified by law-abiding people carrying a handgun within the law. I see that as far more irrational.
There are few places I go where I don't feel generally safe without my weapon. Your interpretations of peoples' motives is not based in fact. Like the prior poster's analogy, I don't live in fear that my house will burn down, but I keep my insurance up-to-date anyways.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
For those of you who carry a weapon: if you were in a store, bank, etc, and a group of people came in with guns and started shooting, would you stand up and shoot them? I'm not trying to be sarcastic, it is a genuine question.
Sulphur Springs 50km-- Ancaster, ON-- May 28, 2022
Tally in the Valley 12 hours-- Dundas, ON -- July 30, 2022 (Support SickKids Toronto)
Stokely Creek-- 56km-- Sault Ste. Marie, ON-- Sept. 24, 2022
Perhaps the problem is not those of us that choose to carry a concealed weapon, but the irrational fear that you have any reason to be terrified by law-abiding people carrying a handgun within the law. I see that as far more irrational. There are few places I go where I don't feel generally safe without my weapon. Your interpretations of peoples' motives is not based in fact. Like the prior poster's analogy, I don't live in fear that my house will burn down, but I keep my insurance up-to-date anyways.
Gah... okay, maybe I exaggerated; I'm not terrified by the fact that some people carry concealed weapons. But the fact remains, I think I would feel safer with as few guns in my general vicinity as possible.
I'm not sure what your interpretation of my interpretation of people's motives was, and why you do not feel it is based in fact. Do people not carry concealed weapons to feel safe? Do people not purchase insurance to feel safe? Why are we arguing?
The problem with the insurance analogy is that gun ownership doesn't make you safer, statistically. I know everyone thinks they're smarter than the statistics but it turns out most people are not. The states with the highest rates of legal gun ownership also have the highest rates of gun deaths. And the states with the lowest rates of legal gun ownership have the lowest rates of gun deaths. Interesting how that works. People who live in households where guns are legally kept are more likely to get shot in every category (accidents, suicides and murders) than people who don't. And on and on. Most of the arguments in favor of carrying just don't make a lot of sense. If more people were armed there would be fewer shootings? Not only does this go against common sense but the data simply doesn't support it.
If you want to carry a gun and you do in compliance with all the laws and you're not hurting anyone I don't really have a problem with it. But the idea that you 'have to" is a bit silly to me. Most people don't own guns and do just fine. Choosing not to own a gun doesn't make someone a blissful pacifist, it may simply mean that they've determined for themselves and their family that in civilian society keeping a firearm in the home would do nothing to make them safer and would instead introduce an unnecessary risk factor that they would rather not have to deal with.
I don't live in fear that my house will burn down and I keep my homeowners insurance up to date too. I also don't light fires too close to my house.
Also debating guns on the internet is pretty much the biggest waste of time and energy there is.
Runners run
Choosing not to own a gun doesn't make someone a blissful pacifist, it may simply mean that they've determined for themselves and their family that in civilian society keeping a firearm in the home would do nothing to make them safer and would instead introduce an unnecessary risk factor that they would rather not have to deal with.
That's a very good way to put it, mikey. I consider myself in this group. There are a great many people who have not made this careful consideration, but instead say "OMG, guns are evil!" Those are the people that pro-gun people are used to arguing with, because people like you don't generally care to enter the conversation.
The problem with the insurance analogy is that gun ownership doesn't make you safer, statistically. I know everyone thinks they're smarter than the statistics but it turns out most people are not. The states with the highest rates of legal gun ownership also have the highest rates of gun deaths. And the states with the lowest rates of legal gun ownership have the lowest rates of gun deaths. Interesting how that works. People who live in households where guns are legally kept are more likely to get shot in every category (accidents, suicides and murders) than people who don't. And on and on. Most of the arguments in favor of carrying just don't make a lot of sense. If more people were armed there would be fewer shootings? Not only does this go against common sense but the data simply doesn't support it. If you want to carry a gun and you do in compliance with all the laws and you're not hurting anyone I don't really have a problem with it. But the idea that you 'have to" is a bit silly to me. Most people don't own guns and do just fine. Choosing not to own a gun doesn't make someone a blissful pacifist, it may simply mean that they've determined for themselves and their family that in civilian society keeping a firearm in the home would do nothing to make them safer and would instead introduce an unnecessary risk factor that they would rather not have to deal with. I don't live in fear that my house will burn down and I keep my homeowners insurance up to date too. I also don't light fires too close to my house. Also debating guns on the internet is pretty much the biggest waste of time and energy there is.
There are three types of lies....lies, damn lies, and statistics.
There are also statistics showing that cities requiring gun ownership (yes they exist) have the lowest crime rates. Lots of other statistics showing positive impact of a legally armed populace.
Frankly, I am not interested in the statistics. The fact that some idiot who has never been trained in gun safety, buys a gun "for protection" and leaves it loaded in his nightstand for his 5-yr-old to find and become a statistic, has no impact on me. Mind are responsibly stored and the only loaded ones in the house are locked in a fingerprint recognition safe. Those that are not loaded, are still locked away just in a more inaccessible manner.
A lot of it has to do with training. Now when I was a kid we had 2 guns, and they were not locked away but simply leaning in the corner. Ammo was not locked away either, but kept high enough to keep kids honest. However safety was taught before one could read and there was less than zero tolerance for screwing around with either, I don't remember exactly how but by 4 years old all I knew was my world would end if I ever touched them. Most of the statistics you speak of come from people stupid enough to allow those undisciplined access to both gun and ammo; usually pre-combined.
"Have to?" No one "has to". It is a personal choice. I have nothing against those who choose not to....only those that rally against those of us who choose to, based on irrational and illogical fears. Criminals don't give a damn what the law is.
Gah... okay, maybe I exaggerated; I'm not terrified by the fact that some people carry concealed weapons. But the fact remains, I think I would feel safer with as few guns in my general vicinity as possible. I'm not sure what your interpretation of my interpretation of people's motives was, and why you do not feel it is based in fact. Do people not carry concealed weapons to feel safe? Do people not purchase insurance to feel safe? Why are we arguing?
Have you ever actually talked to someone who carries and asked them why they carry? If they need it to feel safe to leave the house? I think you would be surprised. This is why I say it is not based in fact; unless you can inform me otherwise, I think you are making in inference based on no actual information. I've just given you n=1 that "feeling safe" is not the reason, and I know lots of people personally with permits and the need to feel safe is not a reason I would think any of them would give.
We're arguing because that's what people do in threads like this, I guess. That and I'm a bit sensitive to people making non-factual assumptions about people like myself, I guess. Think of it more as a learning opportunity than an argument. As I said, you can do whatever you want, I respect that, I just don't like untruthful assumptions about myself and those like me.
>> That and I'm a bit sensitive to people making non-factual assumptions about people like myself, I guess.
But you have no problem doing this about others.
>> That and I'm a bit sensitive to people making non-factual assumptions about people like myself, I guess. But you have no problem doing this about others.
Better keep a low silhouette.
In Europe pretty much everyone is completely baffled by the American habit of everyone going round apparently armed to the teeth.
That has been disproven. DC, Chicago and NYC just to name 3.
To paraphrase an old poster: Today is the first day of the rest of your training. It doesn’t matter where you started or how far you’ve come. Today is the day. Your training didn’t start 6 weeks ago. Your training started the last time you hit the road. John “the Penguin” Bingham Life is not tried, it is merely survived if you're standing outside the fire
Hey, nice marmot!
Ben
"The world is my country, science is my religion."-- Christiaan Huygens
Same in Canada.
It was the "have to" statement that Jehu challenged, starting all this. Nobody was rallying against gun owners.