Then why have one at all? Because you hope that you won't, but have an expectation you will. If this sort of a thing is a statistical anomaly, the bet you're making doesn't need to be made and you're just being paranoid. But if you think it isn't that unlikely... If you think that some maniac with a gun could happen near you... Then you buy and carry and expect in the back of your mind that you'll eventually use it. You practice at the range for enjoyment but also for preparedness. Why? Because you have bet that this isn't a statistical anomaly. I want gun owners to admit that guns amplify the ability of people to kill. I want them to recognize this shit and deal with it. The government won't do as good a job as the people who respect gun ownership the most: gun owners.
No. I had personal experience on this matter with the guy that killed his kids, then himself in Hillsboro a few years ago. It is.not.that simple
It's not. 6 months ago I attempted to buy a pistol in CA. I had a valid (WA) driver's licence, a military ID, orders recalling me to active duty and a date for when I was going to Afghanistan. I had certificates from two military weapons safety courses, and was attempting to buy a standard-issue 9mm Beretta 92FS. I was told that I couldn't b/c I didn't have a CA driver's license, and when I asked if they'd just see my orders that WA was my home of record at the time I was told the police would be called if I attempted to continue the conversation. However, there seems to be no shortage of organized crime involved in weapons trafficking.
If you are robbed at an ATM, do you consider that "public"? If you are carjacked, do you consider that "public"? If so, then yes. You only need a weapon when you need a weapon badly. I don't feel like dying (or having my family killed) just b/c a guy had a bad day and was able to get his hands on a weapon. Fortunately, I'm trained to do more than sit down and pee my pants waiting for either a) the cops to show up or b) the murderer to get me.
Agreed; mental illness is concealed pretty easily depending on the nature of it. And people closest to that person are often the least qualified to judge because you simply love the person too much to see the problem before its too late.
It is. You should have just gone to a gun show with a fistful of cash. Maybe there should be free psychotherapists next to every gun show.
Unconfirmed report that the shooter is Ryan Lanza's younger brother Adam, and that Ryan Lanza is in custody in New Jersey??? In the age of immediate information, it sure is noticeable how wildly these stories tend to flucuate.
You sound like you have some tough guy swagger there. That's what I'm talking about: you guys fantasize about being tough and the gun puts you over the edge from acting tough to being tough. We'll see how good the value proposition of a gun is against a mugger already on your ass at the ATM, or a carjacker already pointing a gun at you. Can you even hope to act fast enough to keep your head in one piece? Science says no. You start with a robber and a carjacker, but pulling a gun turns them both into murderers pretty quick. And calling people who don't see the point of gun ownership pants wetting pussies doesn't do you any favors in dispelling the myth of the gun owner as dick-so-hard to use the gun as a vigilante.
Nonsense. If you know the person well or live with them you will know when their mental state needs attention. The closeness/loyalty factor keeps them from telling anyone. The problem is there's not much one can do about it, since treating mental illness is expensive and usually ineffective in the long run anyway, and can only be forced on someone with a court order.
Then again, "what you're talking about" is ignorant. What's "acting so tough" about protecting yourself and the people you love from the bad people out there? What "puts me over the edge to being tough"? I don't need to justify my toughness or lack thereof to anyone. Training has proven yes. I didn't project. I said I'm trained to do more than that. If you aren't, and that makes you feel like a pussy, I'm sorry...wasn't my intention. Some of us are trained to not be soft targets, and many aren't.
