What the hell is going on?!

[Hoppy]

I can agree on a strict mental test and shooting ability test to be allowed to carry a gun

those judged mentaly deficient are already prohibited from owning firearms. and again. theres no way to tell whos gunna snap.
and many states do have live fire requirements for license to carry.

shooting a gun isnt as hard or as easy as in the movies. when your wound up on adrenaline , you cant shoot a knife out of some ones hand. but there isnt going to be a raging gun battle at 3 feet. most defensive shootings only involve one or two shot.

[RSF5]

Originally Posted by Hoppy

those judged mentaly deficient are already prohibited from owning firearms. and again. theres no way to tell whos gunna snap.
and many states do have live fire requirements for license to carry.

shooting a gun isnt as hard or as easy as in the movies. when your wound up on adrenaline , you cant shoot a knife out of some ones hand. but there isnt going to be a raging gun battle at 3 feet. most defensive shootings only involve one or two shot.

I know there are already requirements and I never said that shooting a gun was easy.

How many defensive gun battles are going to be going on? What happened today was a freak event compared to all the shooting deaths in America. You honestly think that if someone was going to kill you that you could stop them by having a gun also? You'd have to be looking over your shoulder every single moment. If everyone was packing a gun there would be just as many shooting deaths, maybe more because an armed robbery would turn into a fire fight.

[Hoppy]

You honestly think that if someone was going to kill you that you could stop them by having a gun also? You'd have to be looking over your shoulder every single moment. If everyone was packing a gun there would be just as many shooting deaths, maybe more because an armed robbery would turn into a fire fight.

i doubt that because i dont believe there would be as many store roberys for fear of being shot. as for the incident today. he shot 32 people over 2 hours. that not mugger out of a dark ally time frame. thats plenty of time for the would be victims to know whats going on and prepare. i dont think civi's should go out into the hall and search out this guy. that will just lead to confusion. but secure the doors, get into a safe spot and cover the door until some one shows a badge. above all else. "In god we trust. everyone else keep your hands where i can see them"

and its not that a gun is gunna garentee your safety

but il take even 2 out of 100 chance with a gun. than the 1out of 100 chance of survivng with out it.

[RSF5]

People aren't going to stop being criminals just because of more guns, the people that rob stores are stupid, they are going to think "If I get the drop on 'em, they won't have a chance to go for the gun." I would also rather have a gun and not need one, than need one and not have it. But if your so worried about it then get a license and carry a gun with you. Like you said, there is no way to tell who is and isn't going to snap, and they don't need a gun to kill. Guns just make the killing easy.

[Hoppy]

But if your so worried about it then get a license and carry a gun with you. Like you said, there is no way to tell who is and isn't going to snap, and they don't need a gun to kill. Guns just make the killing easy.

they do. and if it comes to the point, godforbid, i have to kill some one to preserve my own life i want that killing to be as simple, quick and sure as possible.
guns can kill. but even killing in itself can be done under acceptable conditions.

i just want to say there are millions of people out there carying handguns everyday. and 99% dont play hero. when the liqour store gets robed they keep thier heads down and only draw when there is a threat to themselves or an innocent.

its not when the liquor store gets robbed that people need a gun, its when the robbers decide they cant risk leaving witnesses.

and i do plan on getting my LTC and carrying on a regular basis. 1 month 2 weeks 2 days till i can apply. i carry mace till then

[RSF5]

You Hoppy, are the kind of person I want to be carrying a gun. Your level headed. I'm in all favor for you to have a gun. It is just the people who are power hungry, who are naturally violent that scare me.

Lets state opinions: In my opinion, anyone who is capable and of age should be allowed to carry a gun with a LTC. However, there are people that are not capable of owning a gun. They are allowed to, but they are not capable. For example, my neighbor in ATL, he left his 9mm unlocked under the seat of his UNLOCKED car. A few weeks ago, it was stolen. That gun is now on the black market. The man is a moron, yet he has more guns than all the people in the area combined. I believe the fact that these people are allowed to is a problem, better people than me though are having a hard time coming up with a solution.

[Hoppy]

My idealist opinion is that only those 18 years or older, mentaly stable, and with no history of agressive violence should be allowed to carry a gun. subject to safety training and situation training. those should be encouraged to do so and empowered with the right to cary anywhere. picking up your son at his elementry school? no need to disarm like people now have to under federal law. carry into a bank. no problem, unlike now under certain state laws.

people should be legaly entitled to defend themselves and have no obligation to retreat from a assault. people have a right to defend themselves from unprovoked attacks. as even a dispute over a parking spot, a youth hockey game, or any number of things turn deadly on a daily basis, wit nothing more than fists and shoed foot. not all cases of self defense are as easily justified as one may be in the VT situation.

how ever i dont believe that can ever be sucessfully utilized. and i dont believe in any issueing agency. as that leads to corruption

i say this is my idealist opinion because it requires a total renovation of the laws. all the feel good "gun free zone" laws will be removed, all the "assault weapon bans" and "high capacity" restrictions removed. these things are objects with no ability to commit crimes on thier own. Judges and juries will need to learn the differance between emotion and logic, and that the guy who shot up the school may have had the worst week in human history. but here in america we judge people on actions and intentions, not reasons and excuses.


if presented with an "all or no one" legal situation. id perfer we all be armed. because the criminals already arnt going to follow the laws. and honestly. im a small guy. real small(5-8 130lbs) i doubt i could win a fight. and while god may have made us all equal in rights. John M. Browning can make us equal in strength.

my favorite line is
"ya, im compensating for something. my inability to throw small bits of metal at several thousand feet per second with great accuracy"

[RSF5]

I wish there was a gray area. It is true, criminals are not going to follow the law. Presented with that, everyone being armed would work, but not everyone will want to be armed.

[Hoppy]

and they should be free to not carry. but i think if it was socialy more acceptable to carry, more people would

the problem isnt that people dont want to be armed

its that people dont want ANYONE to be armed. but yet again, criminals will still be armed, victims wont.

[RSF5]

Originally Posted by Hoppy

and they should be free to not carry. but i think if it was socialy more acceptable to carry, more people would

the problem isnt that people dont want to be armed

its that people dont want ANYONE to be armed. but yet again, criminals will still be armed, victims wont.

Yeah, but is it a problem anyone can really do anything about?

[Hoppy]

what problem is that? people carrying or todays incident

[celsdogg]

wow. i just read all that. the va tech thing was a terrible shame. it makes me angry when people impose their problems on others. im speechless. if that happened while i was in class, there would be some action on my part. i have seen bad things happen, but my god, those victims were just trying to increase their knowledge.

as for carrying a weapon. I live in a state that is so anti-weapon that it almost makes it too difficult to take legally owned weapons to a range. But I am completely in favor of licenses to carry weapons. however, i do not feel that these should be concealed weapons. they should be in plain sight, and if for no better reason than as a deterrent. I believe it was in Texas where they have LTC. and i also know that since they have had the LTC laws, crime has dropped.

i talk to people all the time about the facts on trained and licensed people carrying weapons and idiots carrying weapons and many of the points brought up here i bring up as well. Personally, if MD ever allowed carrying of a weapon (highly unlikely) or i moved to a state that allowed it, I would carry one, and i would be very hesitant to draw it, i would hope i would never have to, and if i did it would be a final measure.

I am trained with weapons. i know how to put rounds exactly where they need to go. i do not believe in spray and pray. and i understand that their are three mistakes that i have to make to have an accidental discharge. i know the importance of a clean and well maintained weapon. i know how to positively identify a target in milliseconds. i know so much about how to handle a weapon. and i am sure that all the citizens of texas who carry weapons know most, if not all of this stuff as well. and i know damn well that some dumb ass who just grabs a weapons knows none of this.

today if we take all the people that know how to handle weapons and respect them, we know that they are far out numbered compared to the amount of people who have illegally owned weapons and perform violent acts.

in terms of education concerning weapons, those that make the laws, and advocate the laws against firearms have the same level of education about firearms as those who commit violent acts with firearms (generalization). i feel that it is their lack of understanding that makes things uneven, because in this case it is true, people fear what they do not understand.

if i were to make a wager between two people, one common bozo with a concealed weapon tucked into his pants, and a trained and sensible texas citizen with a LTC and his weapon properly holstered, Id vote on the Texan 100%.

[RSF5]

Originally Posted by celsdogg

I am trained with weapons. i know how to put rounds exactly where they need to go. i do not believe in spray and pray. and i understand that their are three mistakes that i have to make to have an accidental discharge. i know the importance of a clean and well maintained weapon. i know how to positively identify a target in milliseconds. i know so much about how to handle a weapon. and i am sure that all the citizens of texas who carry weapons know most, if not all of this stuff as well. and i know damn well that some dumb ass who just grabs a weapons knows none of this.

Where you in the military?

[Hoppy]

theres plenty of civilian courses out there you can take. Smith and Wesson in springfield (right next to my home town) offers a number of them. i plan to attend

[RSF5]

Originally Posted by Hoppy

theres plenty of civilian courses out there you can take. Smith and Wesson in springfield (right next to my home town) offers a number of them. i plan to attend

I think I will take one of those too. It is always better to have the skills and not need them