Quote:
Originally Posted by dwever
YES YOU ARE A RESPONSIBLE AND LAW-ABIDING CITIZEN, BUT I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT A GREAT CITIZEN you are, if I detect your weapon on a stop, I just know someone I've pulled over has a weapon, no more at that point, because you didn't tell me.
In the last three days alone, an officer in Sacramento, CA and an officer in Augusta, GA were shot making stops. The guy in Sacramento is critical but expected to survive, the deputy in GA is dead. While violent crimes are down in general, violent crimes and death against officers are on close to a record pace in 2011.
I assure you I'm not baiting for an argument. But if I stop you, (and in my state you don't have to inform me) and you don't tell me in advance you're carrying, then I subsequently notice you are carrying , and if you have ready access to the weapon, officer safety protocol will be followed, and in the end it certainly would have been easier in the first place just to have let me know while presenting your TN carry credentials. I will respect your rights in any and every way I can within the context of my own or other's safety.
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Sorry, you do seem to be baiting for an argument. Your logic escapes me, and this is a lot like bullying to me. You state the law, then state YOUR law, which disregards the state law you swore to uphold. If the state of AL thought that legal gun owners should notify you that they owned or possessed a gun, I'm sure it would be a law. It isn't. And aren't you sworn to uphold the law?
And what is "Officer Safety Protocol" to you? I bet part of that is separating me from my vehicle and then separating me from my firearm while you take care of your business.
Which then is more safe - me sitting in my vehicle with my quietly undetected legal firearm safely in my holster or compartment while you take care of your business, or both of us handling a weapon - perhaps a strange one to you - in public?
Who assaulted and those officers? Were they assaulted by law-abiding, licensed (or permitted) legally carrying citizens? Do you think that because one has a license or permit to carry, obtained legally, and possesses a gun, obtained legally, they are suddenly transformed into a lethal threat to law enforcement?? This is what you just said.
The 2nd amendment says I can bear arms; despite some infringement the laws of your state and mine say I can bear arms; your own driver's license database apparently in some manner associates either legal gun ownership or the permit system with the driver's license. It likely does not list the bad guys and their illegal gun ownership, or out of state legal gun-owning drivers, which it seems are the same to you. Seems to me if my name were to pop up you should be more relaxed knowing you are taking care of your business with a law-abiding citizen who is a zero threat to you, but your own feelings about citizen gun ownership seem to get in the way of this.
I carry concealed so I don't have to deal with public discussions about it.
On topic, I believe gun ownership has some responsibility attached - to be familiar with good handling and storage practices, knowing the laws, etc. Carrying for self defense carries even more responsibility, including ammunition knowledge, physical practice and mental preparation for certain types of scenarios, however unlikely one thinks they may occur. One should practice, and if you show yourself some amount of proficiency, try to do better. If you don't or can't show proficiency, one should get some training.
I am getting pretty good at punching holes in paper at 0-7 yards from different (but not every possible) self-defense type positions. Drawing from concealment, I can get two on the paper plate in 2 seconds, about 90% of the time. I have tried 10 yards a couple of times, and I don't know the exact requirement in TN, but I am not sure I'd pass that 10 yard test yet.
