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  #1  
Old 03-11-2017, 09:18 AM
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Default Why do people carry guns?

Been toting a gun since I was old enough to. I like guns. Don't want to become a victim. To protect my property if need be. For squirrels and such. Because I can. Too many criminals in the world with illegal guns, and that won't stop anytime soon. Have a right to carry.

Young man told me a man carries a gun because he used to have to carry on a job somewhere. Anyone want to help debunk that? I just listened for then, but do want to look into it. Young lady carries because she drives a lot.

To some folk, it is second nature. To some, it would take a LEO too long to get to their farm. Fact is, more and more people sign up every day for a carry license. Many are young with no LEO experience. I would guess people just feel better carrying. Maybe they feel more safe carrying in today's world. Maybe they know it is just the right thing to do. People know.

Maybe it's best to just listen sometimes?
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Old 03-11-2017, 09:28 AM
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In the small state that I live in, S.C., they are now issuing CWPs with numbers over 300,000. If you figure all the folks under 21 that can't get one, and the vast majority over 65 that don't want one, and the criminal element that can't get one, that leaves us with about 1 in 8 that can carry legally. That makes criminals in S.C. at least take a second look at who they are going to victimize next. I have been carrying legally since 1976, just like my tag says, everyday.
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Old 03-11-2017, 09:28 AM
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I think many people are realizing the world is only becoming more dangerous. Police are often spread thin, and who has to take care of the situation until they get there? We do. I carry for a variety of reasons, but this is the main one.
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Old 03-11-2017, 09:38 AM
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Originally Posted by Shark Bait View Post
I think many people are realizing the world is only becoming more dangerous. Police are often spread thin, and who has to take care of the situation until they get there? We do. I carry for a variety of reasons, but this is the main one.
I believe that Police carry not to protect you but to protect themselves.
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Old 03-11-2017, 09:42 AM
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Why do I carry a gun. When seconds count, the police are only minutes away. And carrying a police officer is too much strain on my back.
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Old 03-11-2017, 09:43 AM
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I carry because I am so good looking and sexy that I am fearful that a gang of Hollywood starlets will kidnap me and make me their slave.
(so far its working)
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Old 03-11-2017, 09:55 AM
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The one time my wife called 911 to report someone trying to break into our house (long story, but it was a friend concerned for her welfare), she was told it would be 40 minutes before a deputy could arrive at our rural location. Her Glock 26 and our two Rottweilers gave her great comfort until the situation sorted out.

I carry every day. I consider situational awareness my first line of defense. I do not go to stupid places occupied by stupid people at stupid times. I have no delusions about being the hero who stops a shooter whether at the the theater or the local stop and rob store. Being armed gives me an option in any situation. My first option is to be a good witness and get out of Dodge if I can. But if I cannot move myself, my family, my friends to safety, I have the option of engaging the shooter instead of begging for my life.

I carry because my safety and the safety of my family is my responsibility. I work and socialize with law enforcement. I have great respect for the work they do. But as one of my cop friends says in jest, "We are basically garbage men. We arrive after the action and clean up the mess."
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Old 03-11-2017, 09:59 AM
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There are a couple reasons.

First, I was born and raised in South Dakota an, especially back then, guns were just tools everyone had on the farm or ranch. I'm comfortable carrying a gun, just like I'm comfortable carrying a folding knife. They are tools and it's accurate to say that it's a life long habit carrying those tools.

Second, the county I worked in was 90 miles long and a 45 minute response time was as good as it got if you were on the wrong end of the county when something happened, even running code at 120mph on good road. Add in gravel roads, inclement weather, etc and it could be much longer. It was pretty obvious to everyone living in that rural corner of SD, that law enforcement was never going to get there in time to prevent anything.

The only difference in suburban and urban areas is the that law enforcement won't arrive quite as late. But when they arrive, all they'll usually be able to do is give condolences, collect evidence, take statements, write the report and try to catch the guy before he victimizes someone else. In an urban area, 8 minutes is a pretty good average response time, but an assailant can do a great deal of harm in that 8 minutes.

In short, we are responsible for our own self defense - the police will always be there too late.
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Old 03-11-2017, 10:00 AM
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I mostly carry because I like guns, and like having one on me.
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Old 03-11-2017, 10:06 AM
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Short anwser: Cause I can't carry a policeman.
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Old 03-11-2017, 10:51 AM
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Originally Posted by Inusuit View Post
I carry every day. I consider situational awareness my first line of defense. I do not go to stupid places occupied by stupid people at stupid times. I have no delusions about being the hero who stops a shooter whether at the the theater or the local stop and rob store. Being armed gives me an option in any situation. My first option is to be a good witness and get out of Dodge if I can. But if I cannot move myself, my family, my friends to safety, I have the option of engaging the shooter instead of begging for my life.

I carry because my safety and the safety of my family is my responsibility.
Inusuit ->I could not have articulated it better
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Old 03-11-2017, 10:53 AM
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Good citizenship calls for being responsible for ourselves and our families...and sometimes for our friends and neighbors as well.
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Old 03-11-2017, 10:53 AM
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I carry a gun because the bad guy's carry gun's.

I've had the experience of having a bad guy stand at arms length and pull the trigger 4 times. I was unarmed . I didn't care for the "shooting fish in a barrel " experience, with me being the fish. Next time this "fish" is at least going to have a sporting chance.

The guy was out on Parole....had done jail time for surprise ....Armed Robbery and there was a warrant out for his arrest on an attempted murder charge. With all that , he still gets to carry a gun.
If he can carry one then I'm going to carry one .

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Old 03-11-2017, 10:53 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Inusuit View Post
Being armed gives me an option in any situation. My first option is to be a good witness and get out of Dodge if I can. But if I cannot move myself, my family, my friends to safety, I have the option of engaging the shooter instead of begging for my life.
Saved me all that typing. Joe
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Old 03-11-2017, 10:55 AM
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I carry because I arrested a lot of bad people. Most did not like being arrested. We have constitutional carry in KS, any law abiding citizen can carry openly or concealed.
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Old 03-11-2017, 11:07 AM
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Watch the news and that is reason enough to carry. And a cop is to heavy.

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Old 03-11-2017, 11:10 AM
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It's more handy than a Broadsword

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Old 03-11-2017, 11:16 AM
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Originally Posted by dben002 View Post
Short anwser: Cause I can't carry a policeman.
a cop is too heavy to carry plus he wants to stop for doughnuts frequently
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Old 03-11-2017, 11:18 AM
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I carry a gun because I like guns. I also hope it will keep me from becoming a victim. That being said I HOPE I NEVER NEED IT.
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Old 03-11-2017, 11:18 AM
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I carry because I am so good looking and sexy that I am fearful that a gang of Hollywood starlets will kidnap me and make me their slave.
(so far its working)
Wake up Jimmy. Dreams over.
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Old 03-11-2017, 11:18 AM
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I was a working cop for 30 years and had some experiences that taught me ccw is a smart move. One experience was when I was a young cop, off duty, and needed to make a run to get milk for the kids. Went out w/o my off-duty gun and had a run in w/a bunch of jerks who ran me off the road, got out and offered to mess me up. My badge was in my wallet and I acted like I was armed to get out of the situation. Next day I found all my tires cut. Wonder who did it.
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Old 03-11-2017, 11:22 AM
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I mostly take a gun along just for fun, I've done so for nearly 50 years. I'm far more likely to encounter a tin can in the desert than some type of "bad guy". But should the need arise, all those dead tin cans are proof that I can make things "hot" for someone behaving badly.
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Old 03-11-2017, 11:25 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kanewpadle View Post
Wake up Jimmy. Dreams over.
Oh come on, let him dream for a while.

He can tell us about it later.
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Old 03-11-2017, 11:36 AM
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I grew up with a father that did custom leather work... lots of time spent with LEOs at the kitchen table and the range... on more than one occasion my father was asked "what are you packing today Joe?" by officers he knew... at the time it was not legal to do so, but an affirmative defense was allowed... and we knew the city prosecutor, and he carried... the officers wanted my father as backup... and now as an old man myself, I have been chastised for not carrying by my officer friends as well... they will tell you they need the help out there... most politicians and police chiefs won't acknowledge this, the the rank and file often will... the old "good guy with a gun" thing is true...
so I do it for me, my family and as a civic duty...
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Old 03-11-2017, 11:43 AM
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If I was not already a gun enthusiast would I have gone out and purchased a gun and trained to carry absent any other interest in guns? I really don't know the answer to that.

There's probably a lot of threats to my life that are far more likely that I don't spend near the time, attention, effort or money on compared to gun carry. I know guys who are morbidly obese, puff on cigs and gulp down Cokes all day who would not think about going anywhere unarmed to protect themselves from bodily harm. One guy at the club looked like he wasn't going to survive the walk on a hot summer day to hang his target.. yet bent my ear for an hour about survival preparedness. So... whatever.

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Old 03-11-2017, 11:50 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jimmyj View Post
I carry because I am so good looking and sexy that I am fearful that a gang of Hollywood starlets will kidnap me and make me their slave.
(so far its working)
After thinking about this reasoning, I may have to consider giving up CC. I may be missing a lot and not know about it....as you say, it's working for me also.........
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Old 03-11-2017, 12:37 PM
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I was a victim once many years ago.... will not be that way again.
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Old 03-11-2017, 12:59 PM
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Folks carry because they know that when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.
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Old 03-11-2017, 01:10 PM
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I like all these answers, but some reach out and grab you. Personally, I like guns. A young man asked me what was best for concealed carry, both gun and holster. Told him that was a lifelong pursuit, ever changing. I'm the kind of guy that thinks: I haven't tried one of those 640-1 yet, and the price is right. Which holster shall I try? If I had somewhere else to carry my knife and keys, I'd most likely have one for each pocket and something somewhere else. Sold my G27 when I replaced it with something else. I hold guns close to me, and love all the reasons we carry them. It's far more than just a right. I will always have a gun as long as criminals have guns.


Sorry, DevilDog72: that must be a tough one. "Never again" is a strong and good reaction.
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Old 03-11-2017, 01:19 PM
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Although a broadsword is way more fun.
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Old 03-11-2017, 01:43 PM
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Young lady carries because she drives a lot.
No young lady here. I'm a grandma who didn't start to carry until I moved to SC after retirement. Always liked guns but never owned one, and now that I live where it's legal, I always carry when I'm out of the house. Why? Because you never know. Same reason for carrying most of the stuff in my handbag. I like to be prepared.
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Old 03-11-2017, 01:47 PM
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I carry because I like choices, especially the choice to not submit to evil because I have the means to defeat it.
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Old 03-11-2017, 01:50 PM
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Aloha,

Here on Hawaii, No One can get a CCW permit.

Local Chiefs just do NOT issue no matter what.

Rising violent crime means nothing to our local legislators.

Latest proposal is confiscation without "due process".

We have had it with the Anti 2A climate here in Hawaii.

We hope to be in Hill Country Texas by end of summer.

We will have enough acres for a private range.

I just made 70, Wife is 62,

we realize we may be easily victimized.

But Not if I have a Smith and Wife has her Beretta.
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Old 03-11-2017, 01:52 PM
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I lived in a town in WA State for over 20 years that had 24 murders a year plus multiple shootings and was only 90,000 people. I was in Pathology so did autopsies and examined bullets from gun fights; both the dead and survivors. I am 62 now, a small guy with tired joints and can't defend myself as well or run like I used to. So I started carrying 15 years ago and have done since nearly every day. I left the gun in my truck while in the hospitals, but carried in church. The Mexican gangs even spray painted the Catholic church with gang symbols. My wife's cousin who works for the ATF in Ohio heard about our town and said get out of there. My wife has carried for several years now too. We did leave that town and state. We now are moving to SC to the country in a couple of months, getting out of Minneapolis. We will get our CCWs asap.
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Old 03-11-2017, 01:59 PM
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Short anwser: Cause I can't carry a policeman.
a cop is too heavy to carry plus he wants to stop for doughnuts frequently
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Old 03-11-2017, 02:05 PM
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As the OP mentioned, BECAUSE I CAN. People who don't really understand the concept and ask me why I do, seem to appreciate this answer.


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Old 03-11-2017, 02:08 PM
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Originally Posted by jimmyj View Post
I carry because I am so good looking and sexy that I am fearful that a gang of Hollywood starlets will kidnap me and make me their slave.
(so far its working)
I carry because with my looks it's likely to be Rosie or Oprah that want to make me their play toy!
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Old 03-11-2017, 02:14 PM
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I carry a gun so I can shoot things that need shootin.
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Old 03-11-2017, 02:17 PM
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Because unlike a lot of anti liberals types, I don't have and can't afford a body guard
Plus, nobody is scared of my current dog, Sam.
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Old 03-11-2017, 02:49 PM
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You know honestly it went back to when I was a kid and my dad was a car rental agency manager. He was robbed and had a butcher knife held to his throat. During the trial he was threatened by the defendants so he was able to obtain the predecessor to a CPL. He had a python and a Taurus 357. Well life moved on he let his permit expire and he sold the pistols ( coulda killed him for the python now lol) but ever since I've always though about it. I got my permit about 10 yrs ago and pretty much carried ever since.
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Old 03-11-2017, 02:55 PM
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Default Carry everyday and everywhere-

'cause I'm too old and beat up to run.
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Old 03-11-2017, 03:03 PM
delta-419 delta-419 is offline
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Talking Carry

Never had much to do with handguns, never carried. I was a good shot with a rifle and a shotgun. Until one dark night at 2100 hours in AR when I was home on Christmas leave from Germany. An escaped convict stuck a pump shotgun in my face and made off with my wallet. Less than 50 yards away two cops were sitting down for a cup of coffee. I took an oath to myself, NEVER Again! I will never be a victim and my carry piece is only inches away. I can not predict outcomes, but most assuredly there will be one.
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Old 03-11-2017, 06:56 PM
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Default Why do people carry guns?

Well, we all know that a man ought to be able to cover the ground he's standing on.


It's not what's on a man's hip that makes him a man,


it's what he caries in his heart that counts the most.


I come from the tale end of a time and place, where men were men...And women were damn proud of it.




.
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Old 03-11-2017, 07:11 PM
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In some locales, people carry guns, because they greatly overestimate the actual crime rate.
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File Type: jpg CrimeRate.jpg (49.8 KB, 125 views)
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Old 03-11-2017, 07:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jimmyj View Post
I carry because I am so good looking and sexy that I am fearful that a gang of Hollywood starlets will kidnap me and make me their slave.
(so far its working)
I hope your luck runs out.
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Old 03-11-2017, 07:16 PM
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I carry where legal because I have spent too much time in hospitals and I don't fancy and eternal view of roots.
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Old 03-11-2017, 07:41 PM
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Quote:
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In some locales, people carry guns, because they greatly overestimate the actual crime rate.
It's hard to show directionality in some locales, but the correlation can be interesting.

For example when I transferred to DC about 10 years ago, I checked the FBI crime stats for DC, Arlington county, VA and Montgomery and Prince Georges counties in MD as I decided where I was going to live.

In DC, where gun ownership was rare and concealed carry unheard of, the murder rate was 21 per 100,000. In MD, where gun ownership was legal, but concealed carry uncommon as permits are very hard to get, the murder rate was 14 per 100,000. Finally, in Arlington county where concealed carry permits were available on a "shall issue" basis, the murder rate fell to 7 per 100,000.

A few years later I took some concealed carry permit paperwork into a DC branch of my bank to get notarized. I was surprised that the banker that took care of it for me, an otherwise fairly liberal guy, ranted for 15 minutes about DC's refusal to issue permits. He cited the frequency of individuals from MD and VA coming into the Columbia Heights and Adams Morgan neighborhoods and mugging people because it was guaranteed they would be unarmed. He also cited the inability to safely use any of the bike or jogging trails for the same reason.

Putting the two together, you could conclude that the correlation between the concealed carry, gun ownership and the murder rate may have some directionality, even when all the other confounding variables are considered.

------

In general, I've observed that an armed society tends to be a polite society. If people choosing to conceal carry do so because of a misperception of high crime, but it also serves as a deterrent against crime then there isn't a downside.
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Old 03-11-2017, 08:26 PM
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WWSSD?
What would Skeeter do?
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Old 03-11-2017, 08:31 PM
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Quote:
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In some locales, people carry guns, because they greatly overestimate the actual crime rate.
"Murder" and "manslaughter" rates, going back into the 60's, when the FBI started publishing the statistics, can be a bit deceiving. Think about the state of EMS, trauma centers, 911 and cell phone availability back then. A person is quite a bit more likely to survive a shooting now than then.
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Old 03-11-2017, 08:53 PM
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I am a retired LEO and I know full well that in the best circumstance law enforcement cannot protect me and my family despite how much they want to. FBI statistics- average response time to VIOLENT crime is 12 minutes; non violent crime is 90 minutes. And these times are AFTER someone can call 911! The best law enforcement can do in a vast majority of times is to clean up the mess. They have an impossible job. Consider for a moment the mass shooting in San Bernardino---cops arrived in six minutes---bested the average by half and yet how many were shot? What do we teach people to do? Run, hide, fight...we give the bad guy exactly what he wants--I bunch of targets with their backs to him, posing no threat whatsoever. Imagine how that situation changes with only one person with the training, mental preparedness, and willingness to pose a threat to him? How would that disrupt his plan to actually have someone shooting back! That's why I carry. Bad guys spray and pray...if I can avoid it I do since that generally can't hit the pacific from the deck of the enterprise; but if I cannot, I am prepared to pose a threat to them.


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