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Originally Posted by paulskinback
Can I just ask - why would you want to carry a concealed weapon in the first place?
Sure - if a guy pulls a gun on you, you shit your pants (maybe not literally, but hey) you give him your wallet, your watch etc and you get on with your life. So you lost some posessions? Get over it.
If you then pull out a gun, shoot him in the back, he's still alive, shooting match begins, you him or both get killed - or innocent bystanders.... seems like life is cheap all of sudden.
Also, in what state is it legal to walk around with a gun on your person (only because i'm not american)
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It's perfectly legal in most states (with the ironic exception of some large cities where law-abiding gun owners would be most likely to be able to discourage criminals from attacking.)
There are many reasons to carry a weapon, and it probbly deserves its own thread, but I'll try to summarize for you. There are two big ones. First, our Supreme Court has ruled that the police are not responsible for protecting us, they're responsible for arresting those who harm us (or killing them if they threaten the police with deadly force,) and filling out paperwork and providing evidence for a trial afterwards. They cannot be everywhere at all times. Think about how many law enforcement officers there are per person. There's no way that one of them will be able to protect even a simple majority of violent crime victims chosen at random. Second, a person who is threatening to take your life because of whatever cash and valuables you're carrying with you cannot be trusted to stop that threat once finished. Most gun owners will agree that any person who is willing to take your life in a non-defensive situation has forfeited the right to his own.
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Originally Posted by Martian
Now, I like things that go boom as much as the next guy, but I was sort of wondering about this too. I know that where I live isn't the greatest neighbourhood and I could easily see myself getting into a scrap and having to bloody a lip, but I've never felt so threatened that I'd need to carry a firearm on my person and certainly not as I go about my daily life.
What I'm wondering is where some of you live that you feel the need for such a high level of personal protection? Have any of you actually used your concealed weapon to fend off a mugger or other form of attacker? I'm not being anti-gun here and I'm certainly not going to tell anyone they're not entitled so long as it's in accordance with local law, but I just have trouble understanding the need.
paulskinback - if you shoot him it's unlikely for a shooting match to begin, especially if you shoot him in the back. There's a lot of really painful spots to hit on the back and if you hit the spinal column it could result in paralization or death. Further to that, even if he does return fire odds are against there being more than one or two slugs fired, unless you're both absolutely terrible shots. Guns are designed to incapacitate through injury or death (and don't give me the 'sport' argument, that's not their original intent, even if they've evolved that way) and they do their job remarkably well.
Again, I'm not anti-gun. They certainly have their place. Match shooting and skeet shooting are great pastimes for some people and I'd never suggest that our police forces give up their sidearms. I just don't see the need for your average citizen to carry a weapon as he goes about his daily life.
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The logic behind preserving the right of every person to own guns is that we are a nation founded by those who refused to give them up and used them to fight back against an oppressive government, and we should not be deprived of that right at any point in the future if the need arises. Most gun owners hope that they will never have to shoot anything other than an inanimate target, and most will never have to. However, there is a possibility that they will need it, and it is much better to be prepared than not.
The consideration of shooting anyone in the back who no longer poses a threat to you bothers me. A gun should be used to defend yourself, not for revenge against an attacker who has stopped. As for the need argument, refer to my comments above.
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Originally Posted by Suave
Well Martian, pistols aren't exactly ubiqutous in Canada. Most weapons-related assaults and deaths involve stabbing or slashing implements. The United States (especially certain states) is a much different atmosphere from Canada. Florida for example, with their new "shoot first, don't ask questions at all" law is somewhere I'd want to be carrying, along with probably 3/4 of the rest of the states.
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That's a really bad way to describe it. The law simply states that you don't have to back into a corner if you think your life is in immediate danger. Anyone who tries to abuse it by shooting when they don't need to will certainly be found guilty of unnecessarily escalating the situation and sentenced accordingly.