Gypsy, believe it or not I had a simliar opinion as you on handguns a few years ago. I never really understood the purpose of them (other than a hobby or for military/law enforcement) or why on earth I would ever want to carry one. Then I moved to the big city....Dallas.

Big cities can be wonderful places. But they can also be extremely dangerous. It wasn't until I noticed shootings every night on the news. Everyday in the newspaper. Cops and First 48 were constantly filming in the DFW area. And alot of shootings here are meaningless. It's not a drug deal gone bad or happening at clubs/bars. It's happening everywhere and innocent people are being killed. I realized that I was a sitting duck for criminals. Now in situations where I would have normally been helpless, I have the means to protect myself and my family.

I hope to God that I never have to use my weapon, but lets face it....you can't depend on police to protect 100% of the time. Cops, just like Batman , can't be everywhere all the time.

 

God help the person that lets me draft legislation so I don't think you have to worry about it.

And I'll always be super proud of what a good shot I am. I just won't brag about the fact that my hands were shaking as I took off that paper head.

 

I think one of things being forgotten here is that here in Canada we dont have a lot of the violence the States has (notwithstanding the direction Toronto is heading) So the whole "big city" issue, doesnt really apply here. I have been around weapons my whole career in the military, but when I drove to Florida this past January and saw people walking into a Wendys with a holster, I was still "WTF?" You just dont see that here. As a matter of fact I have lived here in Kingston a total of close to 5 years, and for the life of me cant remember when there was even a handgun offence nevermind a shooting. We have about 115000 here in town so it isnt some tiny town.
Dont get me wrong it isnt all Care Bears and unicorns up here, but we definitely dont see the violence you guys see.

My biggest issue about the whole hand gun thing is how easy it is to get one down there. As far as I understand it, as long as your record is clean and you wait your 7 days you can own one right? I dont know about Americans but I know there are Canadians who have clean records and shouldnt be allowed to take a bus nevermind own a gun.
What is the solution though? What we have here? What they have in England? What you guys have? I dont know.
I do know however that I can drive in pretty much ANY Canadian city with my doors off and roof down and the biggest thing I have to worry about is a polar bear attack or running into an igloo (that is a joke FYI, basically nothing to worry about) That is a great feeling. When I first read the OP, I was like, man I felt like that in Kosovo, it would suck to feel like that in my hometown.

 

Oh sure, NOW you come in here Todd. NOW after we've all kissed and made up. Where were you when I was under...uh.... fire?

Care bears and unicorns indeed.

 

Analogies are imprecise at best, but I'm going to try. If a carpenter builds a really great house his hammer and circular saw don't get the credit, neither the saw or hammer could build the house without the carpenter, but the carpenter could build the house without them.

A gun is a tool, load the gun and set it on a table, if left undisturbed, 100 years from now that gun will be right where you left it. It cannot and will not commit a crime on it's own. A criminal can and will commit crimes, without a gun he will just use a different tool. It is intellectually dishonest to blame a hunk of steal for the actions of the human holding it.

dyolfknip, I'm sure you realize we really do have a strong gun culture here. You know people you wouldn't let take a bus yet could buy a gun here. We try to look at it as, a free society does not deprive a man of his rights because of something he MIGHT do. And that is why most gun control debates turn ugly. We already have laws the say if someone has demonstrated, by their actions, that they should not own a gun, then they can't. Most gun control laws, passed that, are trying to prevent actions that may happen, you can't legislate the future without trampling on the present.

Don't take my U.S. slanted view as a jab at Canada. I'm not saying that Canadians are any less free then we in the US are, our measures of that freedom may just be a little different. As close, in distance, our nations may be, our cultures do have differences, my views only apply here, I'm not trying to tell you you're a nation of slaves because you put different values, and use different measurements of freedom. And Gypsy, understand, gun control debates are like Catholic Bishops discussing abortion with the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood. Both sides know the other one is completely wrong and aren't going to listen to the other, we just hope the undecideds will side with the ones that are truly correct, us. It becomes a debate, not a discussion. So be gentle with us, if you want to really discuss the subject, we will, just be aware that most of the time we are debating with people who have no more real interest in listening to our views than we do in listening to theirs. So if we get a little strident in shouting you down, just remind us that you are really trying to understand our views, and we will tone down a little and get back to discussing with you instead of debating you. Subtle differences, I know, but it does set the tone of the conversation.

 

Sorry dear....I didnt actually notice it was you until after I had posted, otherwise I would have been like the President of the NRA with you

 

Well, I was contemplating sticking my fingers in my ears and singing at one point but it doesn't translate so well on the internet....

But honestly, it is foreign and it is something I wrestle with continually. So it is interesting to understand the opposing position beyond the whole "out of my cold dead hands..." business. And it is interesting how something so alien to me can be so common place elsewhere.

I have difficulty with the levels of freedom. I believe in freedom of the individual. That is where I struggle the most. However, on the other hand, I believe that guns are inherently dangerous things and while I absolutely agree that, in most cases, they are a weapon of opportunity and would be substituted for something else, I also think that guns make serious injury more possible for the common criminal. For example, knives are personal weapons. The offender must get up close and personal, must make a decision and use an excessive amount of force and a moderate amount of time to achieve his end. Very different from the split second decision to fire a gun.

There are other circumstances like the ones I have personally dealt with where a six year old knocked his father's gun off the table and shot himself. A hunter who ran into his tent (shack? whatever you people sleep in ) because he was excited having just seen a female moose (can you tell I don't hunt yet?) jumped on his buddy in his sleeping bag, shot gun in hand and shot him. A husband, angered by seeing his wife in bed with another man goes to the gun cabinet, gets his gun and shoots them both.

But then, these are freak accidents.... I think that I firmly come down on the side that preventing such situations are more important than a person's right to carry a weapon. But that doesn't mean that I am rabid about my view, nor am I trying to impose it on someone else. I am very interested in hearing the other side. It keeps me open.

Oh, and Todd, we'll just agree that I'm obviously the tougher one and get on with it, ok?

 

A couple of thoughts on the original situation:

First - Have you seen those decals - "Insured by S&W" ...Ruger, etc. On cars and trucks. I have not gotten one yet, but plan on it. It ought to work like those home security signs. So to the punk, If you're looking for fun, find an easier target. Also, You gotta love those Yosimity (sp) Sam "Back Off" mud flaps. Remember what he is holding?. I dont plan on getting those, but they do look cool.

Second - I have actually placed my empty holster on the dash in plain sight once in a similar situation. I wanted to communicate that - I am ready...dont mess w/ me. I think it should help protect you legally, because it is not a threat. And, it would be more difficult for a punk to say they saw a gun and really be able to back that up.... So was that a revolver or auto? Short or long barrel? Nickel or blued? Pearl handle? etc....

Any Thoughts?

 

I'm going to chime in here. Gypsy and I have had an ongoing discussion about trying to convert a soft top to a Sunrider so we are not complete strangers. Here is my opinion, it is only my opinion, I don't intend this to be a presentation of facts and figures. I've carried for 30 years, my wife has had her CCW for about 10 years. We shoot a lot at the range, we go through 5000 rounds every year. Do we carry? Absolutely. Why? Because the world is full of bad people. Criminals by definition defy the law. Whenever I read about some whack job that walks into a fast food joint or gets on a train and starts shooting innocent people I think to myself, "Man, if someone there had only had a CCW and was carrying, so many lives would have been saved". Now people are going to say if we ban the guns this won't happen any more. Rubbish, bad guys will always find a way to get guns. Look at the Washington DC debacle. Handguns were banned for the law abiding citizen yet the murder rate in DC climbed astronomically when the ban was enacted. Britain has banned handguns and their violent crime rate has gone sky high. Australia has banned handguns and their crome rate has gone through the roof too. There are now I believe 38 states allowing CCW. In EVERY ONE OF THOSE STATES, across the board without exception, the violent crime rate went down when the CCW laws were passed. The bad guys no longer can prey on unarmed law abiding citizens. They no longer know that the people they intend to prey upon won't be able to defend themselves. I've had discussions with people who say, what are you, expecting trouble? I then ask them if the have a fire extinguisher home and if so, are they expecting their house to burn?

Now, do we shoot? Yes, we shoot weekly at our club range. We shoot steel plates, it is wonderful entertainment. We get 15 to 20 people at the range, we stress safety, and everyone has a grand time. The club also has a paper bullseye league that shoots weekly. I'm not much on paper shooting anymore. Since going to steel I've come to enjoy the "Something should happen when I hit my target" train of thought. Paper doesn't do that for me. My wife also shoots weekly at steel and enjoys it immensely. It gives us one night a week where we can get out together and we have an activity we both enjoy and we get to visit with friends as a bonus. If you are a stranger to the shooting sports, find someone who participates and ask if you can try it. Once you get past the "I'm too scared to shoot a gun" thinking, you may find you really do enjoy it. There are a vast number of different types of sport shooting events from rifle, shotgun, to pistols. As the old advertisement used to say "Try it, you'll like it". Okay, I'm done. Here is the wife on the steel plate range last winter.

 

Shepherda, i have mixed feelings about this. i almost feel as if this could actually provoke people. but i guess it would have to be tested out before i could assume anything.

the sticker might provoke people to break into your Jeep in hopes of finding a gun they can pawn. that's why i've never put stickers on my vehicles. i always see those guys with stereo systems that have Rockford Fosgate or JL stickers and think it's just a target for thieves.