OK. I'm more clear on your angle now, I think.

Still, I'm not sure I'm in total agreement. That's perfectly ok, of course.

I'm simply suggesting that if you're carrying a weapon, you automatically have (should have) a higher standard of "acceptable behavior".

Because there's more than one of us in the country, we're faced with the concept of governing ourselves. Nobody likes a politician a thousand miles away "telling me how to run my life". But most are pretty ok with the idea that that same politician can tell a habitual or violent criminal offender that his right to bear arms will be restricted or removed.

We have all kinds of laws that relate to that concept and most of us are probably very ok with them. Using a gun to commit a crime is a higher level of crime than if you don't use a gun. I'm certainly not suggesting that CCW permit holders pay more for a speeding ticket. Those two are totally unrelated. But there surely are behaviors that most would agree are not something we want gun bearers to engage in, even if they aren't using the gun while doing that behavior. I don't think I want drug smugglers or rapists or burglars to be allowed to bear arms in their "non crime committing hours".

That's what I'm suggesting when I say that we, gun owners, gun bearers, are (and should be) held to a higher standard. We SHOULD be doing it ourselves. We SHOULD be taking your classes and learn to handle firearms safely. But very often we don't do it ourselves. So the rest of the people around us get together and "require it" of the others.


Sgt Lumpy