Concealed Carry: good or bad idea

ETA most home invasions the occupants never have the chance to get their gun out of the locked gun case, then loaded, and ready to be shot. Most trained individuals cannot easily hit a moving target, so even if someone had been armed during the mass shootings the outcome would not have been much different, not to mention once the police show up and realize you have multiple people with weapons drawn...well...you are just asking for trouble at that point.
Right! They just assult kids with knives (like in China!) Oh so much better.

Statistics have proven my children are much safer in my home without a gun than they are with one.

What kind of idiot stores an unloaded gun for protection? No one I know. I can have my gun in my hand and ready to shoot in 3 seconds from where I sleep.

The two of you have touched on the one of my main concerns in the gun debate. If you have children, or others in your home besides yourself, how can you have a gun ready to shoot in 3 seconds, but still think you are being "safe" or "responsible"? What if you're sleeping and your toddler wanders in your bedroom and grabs your gun and shoots his/herself before you even know what's happening? Or your depressed teen knows it's there, takes it during the night and goes to school the next day and shoots a bunch of classmates? Or you, while you're sleeping? I'm sorry, but I don't see how having a gun lying around loaded is safe for anyone. Either the gun is unloaded and locked up and "safe" but useless in a surprise situation, or it's loaded and accessible, "unsafe", but ready to use.

Here is the answer to your concerns.

http://www.amazon.com/Gunvault-GV1000S-Mini-Vault-Standard/dp/B001C601KA/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1369323123&sr=8-15&keywords=biometric+gun+safe

Is this a requirement when a person purchases a gun? No? If a person does purchase one of these, are they required to use it? No again, right? So is requiring a biometric gun safe with every gun sale a solution? Not entirely, but it could help. As could requiring permitting and background checks for all residents of the home once they reach a certain age. Or requiring gun insurance or yearly licensing where you have to produce your gun every year for inspection and to prove that it is still in the registered owner's possession and hasn't been sold under the table to a "thug". Most "anti-gun" folks aren't about taking away your guns, you see. Most "anti-gun" folks would just like to see a little more regulation.

But, OP, to answer your question, I haven't really seen compelling evidence either way as to whether or not concealed carry increases or decreases crime. I agree with most of the Europeans/Canadians that have piped in...guns are not part of the "culture" for them, so they don't see a need. Americans have made it part of our culture so we don't see how it's not a need.

I guess if ya'll want to ban guns, we'll have to ban butcher knives, meat cleavers, etc. too. I mean, some of ya'lls argument is that irresponsible gun owners shoot themselves, each other, leave it out for children to find, etc. Ok, people who are irresponsible with other weapons such as knives and meat cleavers can do damage too.

So if a child chokes on a toy or gives a toy to another child who chokes on it, are we going to ban toys, too????

no one here has suggested banning guns.

Let me help the original poster in the quote out.

How about we impose more regulations on the above mentioned items? Is that pedantic enough for you?

Those items are not designed to kill, they can kill but it is not even close to be the same thing as a gun. Their purpose is not to kill. The sole purpose of a gun is to kill and therefore should be regulated.

Brb never going to America, wouldn't be able to trust anyone.

Its not the ones legally carrying that you can't trust....its all of those that carry illegally, or who "legally" cannot carry, but do anyway.

ETA most home invasions the occupants never have the chance to get their gun out of the locked gun case, then loaded, and ready to be shot. Most trained individuals cannot easily hit a moving target, so even if someone had been armed during the mass shootings the outcome would not have been much different, not to mention once the police show up and realize you have multiple people with weapons drawn...well...you are just asking for trouble at that point.
Right! They just assult kids with knives (like in China!) Oh so much better.

Statistics have proven my children are much safer in my home without a gun than they are with one.

What kind of idiot stores an unloaded gun for protection? No one I know. I can have my gun in my hand and ready to shoot in 3 seconds from where I sleep.

The two of you have touched on the one of my main concerns in the gun debate. If you have children, or others in your home besides yourself, how can you have a gun ready to shoot in 3 seconds, but still think you are being "safe" or "responsible"? What if you're sleeping and your toddler wanders in your bedroom and grabs your gun and shoots his/herself before you even know what's happening? Or your depressed teen knows it's there, takes it during the night and goes to school the next day and shoots a bunch of classmates? Or you, while you're sleeping? I'm sorry, but I don't see how having a gun lying around loaded is safe for anyone. Either the gun is unloaded and locked up and "safe" but useless in a surprise situation, or it's loaded and accessible, "unsafe", but ready to use.

Here is the answer to your concerns.

http://www.amazon.com/Gunvault-GV1000S-Mini-Vault-Standard/dp/B001C601KA/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1369323123&sr=8-15&keywords=biometric+gun+safe

Is this a requirement when a person purchases a gun? No? If a person does purchase one of these, are they required to use it? No again, right? So is requiring a biometric gun safe with every gun sale a solution? Not entirely, but it could help. As could requiring permitting and background checks for all residents of the home once they reach a certain age. Or requiring gun insurance or yearly licensing where you have to produce your gun every year for inspection and to prove that it is still in the registered owner's possession and hasn't been sold under the table to a "thug". Most "anti-gun" folks aren't about taking away your guns, you see. Most "anti-gun" folks would just like to see a little more regulation.

But, OP, to answer your question, I haven't really seen compelling evidence either way as to whether or not concealed carry increases or decreases crime. I agree with most of the Europeans/Canadians that have piped in...guns are not part of the "culture" for them, so they don't see a need. Americans have made it part of our culture so we don't see how it's not a need.

I guess if ya'll want to ban guns, we'll have to ban butcher knives, meat cleavers, etc. too. I mean, some of ya'lls argument is that irresponsible gun owners shoot themselves, each other, leave it out for children to find, etc. Ok, people who are irresponsible with other weapons such as knives and meat cleavers can do damage too.

So if a child chokes on a toy or gives a toy to another child who chokes on it, are we going to ban toys, too????

no one here has suggested banning guns.

Let me help the original poster in the quote out.

How about we impose more regulations on the above mentioned items? Is that pedantic enough for you?

Those items are not designed to kill, they can kill but it is not even close to be the same thing as a gun. Their purpose is not to kill. The sole purpose of a gun is to kill and therefore should be regulated.

Guns have a lot of different purposes besides killing other humans. Have you considered that it's also a sport?

ETA most home invasions the occupants never have the chance to get their gun out of the locked gun case, then loaded, and ready to be shot.

All it really takes is the cycling sound of a shot gun and I bet you 9 times out of 10 the intruder is hauling buns out of there. Better to have some change to fight on an even playing field then none at all, right?

@BflSaberfan - No there wasn't a guard IN the school. My source is Wikipedia.

There was an armed guard assigned to the school but he was not in the school when it happened. He was in the parking lot at the time.. He did get a shot off from the parking lot at one of the perps but didn't have on his prescription glasses and didn't hit the shooter. So I stand by statement that there was no armed guard in the school. And apparently not a very prepared one outside it.

Population 311,591,917
US Violent Crimes 2011 1,203,564
Violent Crimes/100,000 386



Population 56,000,000
UK Violent Crimes 2011 762,515
Violent Crimes/ 100,000 1361
*Ban on guns since 1997

Percentage higher than US 352.59%

Violent crimes or purely gun crimes?

All I have to say is "When seconds count, the police are only minutes away."

Having read the thread in full there seems to be one overriding conclusion:

If everyone around you has the right to own a gun, you feel you need a gun to feel safe.

If nobody around you has the right to own a gun, you don't feel you need a gun to feel safe.


Make of that what you will.

/thread

How many people that have been a victim of violent crime, and lived to tell about it, in turn arm themselves?

You can talk in the hypothetical all you want, but until you face a situation that shows you just how vulnerable you are, you are simply making assumptions.

I sincerely hope you never have your beliefs put to the test.

He killed her, stole her car and stole her guns. I don't think it would have matter where she kept them, he would have gotten them if he wanted them...and if not her guns, he would have just got them from some where else. OR...made a homemade bomb, or used the car to mow down as many people as he could. James Holmes, the Aurora shooter, had his apartment wired to blow up if anyone entered. Let's go out on a limb and just say that someone in the theater was carrying conceal, and before Holmes got his first shot off, he was stopped. His apartment was still wired to blow up. He wanted to cause damage, he wanted people dead. He's crazy and no amount of legislation or laws or bans or restrictions would stop him.

Most countries where citizens do not have access to guns school shootings are unheard of.