What could go wrong?

[sc00ter]

Chipotle is nasty so those clowns can eat there everyday. I bet they'd poo their panties if gun fire popped off around them. They can come thru my neighborhood after dark if they want to play, or join the Army. I don't think the fat one would get thru basic training though.

 

[rtp]

This is a mixed bag.
Reality is police are there in most cases to clean up the mess, not to prevent an assault or other incident on the fly, and being 10-30 minutes away in an emergency is the reality. So I absolutely support the 2nd Amendment for that and other reasons.

To @tomjasz's earlier comments RE: training or lack thereof - I somewhat agree, but the Constitution is 'shall not be infringed.' It does not specify unless you are wealthy and able to afford extensive (and not inexpensive) training or anything else. I'd rather not debate the ignorance of the term 'militia' back then, as it was indeed - everyone able to carry a weapon, aka 'civilians.'

Of course, if the US government would reign in the shitstorm of abuse we call a medical system or other areas, there might well be some funding for e.g. safe handling of firearms, or people with free-er cash. Training is never a bad thing - my friends and I compete in 3-gun competitions (pistol, rifle, shotgun) actively moving around, often with scenario situations (and mocked no-shoot targets), and also do training, including some given by former special forces instructors. We've actually competed with some active-duty cops, and often enough 'win' as a fair number of police aren't actually well-trained in firearms overall unless it's also one of their personal hobbies, etc.

Looking at statistics, concealed carry holders are literally among the most crime-free group of people in the US. 'Normal' people have zero desire to shoot anyone, but it is better to have and not need than to need and be hoping a random cop will be in the right place at the right time. Note there remain restrictions on where you are able to carry, whether or not I personally agree or disagree with them, e.g., you may not carry in bars, schools, etc. Also note for those claiming (oh look at <somewhere> - sadly, the US violent crime stats are a bit of a crapshow, with a significant portion of gun-related violence being gang on gang or among criminal elements, so it's rather difficult to get to 'real numbers for discussion,' at least last time I did a deep dive into stats.

A good friend of mine has a daughter who was born with a serious birth defect, requiring multiple brain surgeries for a relatively rare condition. They had to make several trips for the initial surgeries, one of which was at a medical center/specialist across the country. They drove across half the country, and as sometimes we're all tempted to do, they were driving late for the last leg of the trip. They pulled into a gas station with a mini-mart, put the pump in the truck, and he ran in to grab some snacks and drinks, with his wife, aforementioned daughter, and their other child in the car. Coming back out, 4-5 'shady looking' guys are spread across the lot and walking towards his truck. Well-lit parking lot, but midnight-1am, no cop in sight. So - what would you do? Call 911 and wait until they showed up? He loudly asked if he could help them, and pulled back his shirt, showing the grip of his concealed pistol. Suddenly there was no more interest in approaching the vehicle - they left without a word. We could dissect this all day long and pretend they just wanted to give him a free car wash at midnight, but yeah - not so likely. Things like this do happen in the real world unfortunately, but are not in the majority of cases, reported, recorded, or even noted.

Having said all that - well, there's a reason some call it Flori-DUH. Fundamentally I agree with constitutional carry, however at least with concealed carry, a days training is mandatory along with live fire exercise. The linked article says no training at all is required. On the one side, well - not everyone can afford paying for a few hundred $ for a concealed carry course, so Jim Crow law arguments come into effect, but I personally agree - some training should be mandatory, including very clear knowledge of where you may and may not carry, concealed or not.

 

[Gordon71]

This is a mixed bag.
Reality is police are there in most cases to clean up the mess, not to prevent an assault or other incident on the fly, and being 10-30 minutes away in an emergency is the reality. So I absolutely support the 2nd Amendment for that and other reasons.

To @tomjasz's earlier comments RE: training or lack thereof - I somewhat agree, but the Constitution is 'shall not be infringed.' It does not specify unless you are wealthy and able to afford extensive (and not inexpensive) training or anything else. I'd rather not debate the ignorance of the term 'militia' back then, as it was indeed - everyone able to carry a weapon, aka 'civilians.'

Of course, if the US government would reign in the shitstorm of abuse we call a medical system or other areas, there might well be some funding for e.g. safe handling of firearms, or people with free-er cash. Training is never a bad thing - my friends and I compete in 3-gun competitions (pistol, rifle, shotgun) actively moving around, often with scenario situations (and mocked no-shoot targets), and also do training, including some given by former special forces instructors. We've actually competed with some active-duty cops, and often enough 'win' as a fair number of police aren't actually well-trained in firearms overall unless it's also one of their personal hobbies, etc.

Looking at statistics, concealed carry holders are literally among the most crime-free group of people in the US. 'Normal' people have zero desire to shoot anyone, but it is better to have and not need than to need and be hoping a random cop will be in the right place at the right time. Note there remain restrictions on where you are able to carry, whether or not I personally agree or disagree with them, e.g., you may not carry in bars, schools, etc. Also note for those claiming (oh look at <somewhere> - sadly, the US violent crime stats are a bit of a crapshow, with a significant portion of gun-related violence being gang on gang or among criminal elements, so it's rather difficult to get to 'real numbers for discussion,' at least last time I did a deep dive into stats.

A good friend of mine has a daughter who was born with a serious birth defect, requiring multiple brain surgeries for a relatively rare condition. They had to make several trips for the initial surgeries, one of which was at a medical center/specialist across the country. They drove across half the country, and as sometimes we're all tempted to do, they were driving late for the last leg of the trip. They pulled into a gas station with a mini-mart, put the pump in the truck, and he ran in to grab some snacks and drinks, with his wife, aforementioned daughter, and their other child in the car. Coming back out, 4-5 'shady looking' guys are spread across the lot and walking towards his truck. Well-lit parking lot, but midnight-1am, no cop in sight. So - what would you do? Call 911 and wait until they showed up? He loudly asked if he could help them, and pulled back his shirt, showing the grip of his concealed pistol. Suddenly there was no more interest in approaching the vehicle - they left without a word. We could dissect this all day long and pretend they just wanted to give him a free car wash at midnight, but yeah - not so likely. Things like this do happen in the real world unfortunately, but are not in the majority of cases, reported, recorded, or even noted.

Having said all that - well, there's a reason some call it Flori-DUH. Fundamentally I agree with constitutional carry, however at least with concealed carry, a days training is mandatory along with live fire exercise. The linked article says no training at all is required. On the one side, well - not everyone can afford paying for a few hundred $ for a concealed carry course, so Jim Crow law arguments come into effect, but I personally agree - some training should be mandatory, including very clear knowledge of where you may and may not carry, concealed or not.

Sure there are stories like your friends but for every one of those there are a bunch where a child gets a hold of the gun and shoots themselves or someone else, the gun is being cleaned and goes off injuring the owner or someone around them, the owner gets depressed and uses the gun on themselves and or others, the owner sees or hears an intruder, shoots them, and then finds it's a neighbor looking for the dog or a son/daughter sneaking back in the house late at night and the list goes on.

 

[Cowlitz]

Many years ago, a coworker told a story about how he used to sleep with a loaded pistol nearby. He was a former marine and did a couple of Viet Nam tours. One night, he heard somebody in his house and he grabbed the pistol and saw, in time, that he was about to kill a boy. Yes, the boy was not supposed to be there. This scared my coworker so he put the gun away where it was not handy, and switched to keeping a knife near so he'd be forced to get close enough to see the intruder.

Personally? Like I've said, I have been around guns and such all my life. What I hate is what I see as a religion of gun worship/violence worship that we have in this country. If that meme is factual, it's a good example. The NRA has done a great job of going from Field and Stream/ Pat McManus culture to military wannabe/couch commando culture. I prefer the first. We are in the second.

 

[rtp]

Sure there are stories like your friends but for every one of those there are a bunch where a child gets a hold of the gun and shoots themselves or someone else, the gun is being cleaned and goes off injuring the owner or someone around them, the owner gets depressed and uses the gun on themselves and or others, the owner sees or hears an intruder, shoots them, and then finds it's a neighbor looking for the dog or a son/daughter sneaking back in the house late at night and the list goes on.

Yep, and gun owners are responsible for securing their firearms.

Cars are dangerous too. Apparently so is some baby formula and many other things - terrible things happen all around, but do not negate the 2nd amendment either.
I've said what I want - I can't stand most US politicians, especially those pushing single issue agendas, and not a fan of the linked article, but it's not as black and white as many 'anti-gun' would prefer.

 

[Gordon71]

Yep, and gun owners are responsible for securing their firearms.

Cars are dangerous too. Apparently so is some baby formula and many other things - terrible things happen all around, but do not negate the 2nd amendment either.
I've said what I want - I can't stand most US politicians, especially those pushing single issue agendas, and not a fan of the linked article, but it's not as black and white as many 'anti-gun' would prefer.

Lots of things are dangerous but one thing was designed for the purpose of killing. It has no other use.

 

[tomjasz]

a days training is mandatory along with live fire exercise.

Sorry but that’s completely inadequate. I shot in a pistol league for several decades. But the gun shops changed and became bastions of paranoid right wing extremists. My rather large collection was sold off nearly two decades 15 years ago. Some, actually most, of my classmates that passed their CC licenses were just plain scary. I’m sure you have seen n00bs that will never establish the muscle memory to be effective in a shooting scenario. Locally we had a CC fellow that actually wrote a letter to the editor revealing he brandished to scare guys in hoodies. He should have lost his permit but that never happened. Right wind police chief chose no action. Despite brandishing being against all CC regulations.

And then there’s ghost guns.

 

[Cowlitz]

 

[ChezCheese:)]

Could a stray bullet at a gas pump cause an explosion? Just wondering...

 

[Handlebars]

Sure there are stories like your friends but for every one of those there are a bunch where a child gets a hold of the gun and shoots themselves or someone else, the gun is being cleaned and goes off injuring the owner or someone around them, the owner gets depressed and uses the gun on themselves and or others, the owner sees or hears an intruder, shoots them, and then finds it's a neighbor looking for the dog or a son/daughter sneaking back in the house late at night and the list goes on.

That's pure bunk though; the accidents do happen and the preventions do happen a lot. Why would you expect that the ward-offs and incidences where simple knowledge of a possible victim being armed, and therefore offenders decided not to carry on, would even be reported?
Use your brains, dudes. Do you think that guys at the gas station looking to carjack or rob, but dissuaded by being shown a weapon, that those stories would usually be reported and circulated? Child shoots someone accidentally is always news.
NON-EVENTS don't get reported.