All the very logical sounding arguments fall away when measured
against actual stats. But the sure sound good.
Sent from my iPod
On Aug 11, 2009, at 9:39 AM, Constance Warner <cawar...@his.com> wrote:
Well, yes. But what are you going to do when you're caught in the
crossfire when Biker Dude, Bus Driver Dude, and Grandma get in a
shootout with Armed Robbery Dude, when he tries to relieve them of
their wallets? Which is a stupid thing to do; all the advice I've
ever heard [from safety and law-enforcement sources] is to just hand
over your wallet to your attacker, on the theory that it's better to
lose your money than your life. [They also recommend that you carry
a dummy wallet for just such occasions, when visiting questionable
neighborhoods.]
I don't buy the whole intimidation via citizens-carrying-guns thing.
Street criminals are not noted for intelligence, sobriety, and
forethought. Will the mugger check you out all that carefully--to
see whether or not you have got a gun in a shoulder holster, or in
your waistband under your jacket, for example--before demanding your
wallet at gun-point? Once he jumps out from behind the dumpster and
points a gun at you, it's too late for your firearm to do you any
good. If you try to draw it, you're dead. If Stupid Street
Criminal discovers that you are armed, and he's got a gun pointed at
you, do you think he's just going to take your money and leave you
standing there, to shoot HIM as he walks away? He's probably just
smart enough to imagine what could happen if he did THAT. Of
course, you, as Mr. Lawful Citizen, would then be on the hook for
second-degree murder, which would have decidedly unpleasant
consequences; but I wouldn't count on Stupid Street Criminal to
think of that if he's got a gun pointed at you.
And you'd better hope that gun-carrying Biker Dude, Bus Driver
Dude, and Grandma are sane, sober, anger-controlled, and at the top
of their psychological game 100% of the time. Likewise all the
other citizens who are going about their daily business armed, as
though they were living on the western frontier in 1880, or in many
places in the world today [such as Somalia] that do not have the
rule of law. [BTW, in such places, a firearm is not a guarantee of
safety. If Armed Robbery Dude, Evil Guerilla Dude, or Army Death
Squad Dude even SUSPECT that you are armed, they will shoot first
and ask questions later.]
--Constance Warner
On Aug 11, 2009, at 2:55 AM, Jeff Miles wrote:
I've known and feel safer around biker dudes then I ever do
around 14 year olds. So Tom's example was an apt one. However, if I
had a gun, grandma sitting next to me had a gun and the bus driver
had a gun, I'd feel more safe.
On Aug 9, 2009, at 1:57 PM, b_s-wilk wrote:
About a week ago I was in a quicktrip getting gas and a drink
before
work..it was probably 11.30 at night. In front of me was a guy
who clearly
was a biker, had the whole outfit on including what looked like a
nice 9mm
at his side. I felt decidedly safer with him there...who is
going to rob
the quickie mart while he's around?
He will. And then he'll rob you. Biker dude still makes you feel
safe?
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