Why Won’t People Carry?

[smoothshooter]

Just read about a middle-aged couple down in Florida that were riding their bikes home that were attacked, stabbed and slashed to death by an illegal with a knife.
Why won't law-abiding people carry pepper mace or guns to protect themselves?
At least one of the victims might still be alive if they had done so.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Not every law abiding citizen is a gun person.

 

[9mmPatriot]

So many possible reasons....
Unreasonable fear of guns.
Unreasonable belief that the police will protect them.
Unreasonable belief that they live in a safe neighborhood.
Unreasonable belief that all "Illegals" (no matter where they are from) are here because they want a better life and nothing more.


I could go on and on....

 

[sigp220.45]

I'd say the huge majority of people don't carry anything, and get by just fine.

Every once in a while someone gets eaten. Most people think it won't happen to them, and are right.

 

[S-W4EVER]

I wish good people would train and CCW, violent crime would be a lot more uncommon.

 

[CH4]

Apathy. They think only bad things happen to other people.

 

[Jimmy4570]

Sad that an illegal alien was permitted to do such a thing in the first place. Regarding the poor murdered folks, they obviously opted to go about unarmed in an age in America when it's more important than ever for responsible citizens to live responsibly, and that includes being prepared to defend oneself in a deadly encounter. As the old saying goes, when seconds count, the police are minutes away. Now those poor souls in no way- nor do countless others for a host of reasons- deserved to be killed. The tragedy of their death is that it is the direct result of a decades' long policy by our own government to permit trash like that alien to be present within our borders. THAT is the real crime as it has lead to the deaths of thousands of Americans over the years.

 

[smoothshooter]

Not every law abiding citizen is a gun person.

And sometimes they and their loved ones pay the price.
A lot of non-gun people have one or more around just-in-case.

 

[.455_Hunter]

Sometimes, restrictions where its legal to carry may make it virtually impossible for an armed citizen to not run afoul of the law sometime during their daily activities. Hence, many who might carry do not
carry.

 

[smoothshooter]

I'd say the huge majority of people don't carry anything, and get by just fine.

Every once in a while someone gets eaten. Most people think it won't happen to them, and are right.

According to statics, for what that's worth, only about 5% of people with carry permits carry a gun on any given day.
As for the criminal element, who knows?

 

[smoothshooter]

Sometimes, legal restrictions where its legal to carry may make virtually impossible for an armed citizen to not run afoul of the law sometime during their daily activities. Hence, many who might carry do not
carry.

No excuse in Florida. The couple were riding back home from a Bike Fair, or something like that.

 

[Lowa]

I'm in a constitutional carry state. The people I know that don't carry are really really lazy with going outside. They wear sweatpants and gym shorts with whatever t shirt is available. Some of them even have ccw permits. Carrying a gun is just extra work and they aren't willing to put in any effort at all.

I even carry a 442 mounted to a clip in my pants to the gym. I won't let people get hurt whether I have a gun or not, so I prefer to be prepared.

Everybody should carry a gun at all times. Just like everybody should wear a seatbelt, drive the speed limit, and signal properly. Instead, we get over 30k car deaths a year.

Lazy, irresponsible people.

 

[Rustyt1953]

I'd say the huge majority of people don't carry anything, and get by just fine.

This ^^^

My mom is 88 and has never fired a gun in her life. Most of my extended family don't own guns yet somehow they survive.

Personal choice.

 

[6string]

There are a lot of irresponsible or air-headed people out there that, despite lacking a criminal record, I would hate to be anywhere near if they were in possession of a firearm.
Even if they receive training, it just doesn't sink in. Maybe it's a lack of common sense? Maybe some of them are just aware enough to know they shouldn't be handling/owning a firearm?

I quit a gun club where, after starting a weekly defensive pistol league, bullet holes started appearing in the roof and walls. Some members, despite years of experience and "training", couldn't get through a match without muzzle sweeping other members. There was more than one accidental discharge, too.
Would you feel safer knowing one or more of these guys lived in your town?

There's a lot of responsibility involved in just handling a firearm in a controlled environment such as a organized shooting range, let alone out in the general public while under duress.
I just hope that the people who do carry have very carefully considered the responsibility they have assumed and the consequences of a bad decision on their part.

It's not all "Big hero shoots the bad guy and saves the day"!

 

[pantannojack]

Some think the civil law suits from the attacker's family might be more costly then their own life is worth. I say protection laws should be put in place to allow us to sue the family or the crocked govt which distributes such criminals and keep them lurking in the dead of night.

 

[.455_Hunter]

No excuse in Florida. The couple were riding back home from a Bike Fair, or something like that.

If they would have been riding back from their son's school scrimmage baseball game played in a public park, they would have been in violation.

Possession Restrictions / Concealed Weapon License / Consumer Resources / Home - Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services

"Any school, college or professional athletic event not related to firearms."

Plenty of ways to run afoul of the law in Florida.

 

[2wheels]

Some people will fight to the end and survive, other will curl up and quit as soon as things go south. My best friend was killed in a car wreck, that had he been wearing a seat belt would have survived with only a few bruises.

Different strokes for different folks.

 

[Bratworst]

There are a lot of irresponsible or air-headed people out there that, despite lacking a criminal record, I would hate to be anywhere near if they were in possession of a firearm.
Even if they receive training, it just doesn't sink in. Maybe it's a lack of common sense? Maybe some of them are just aware enough to know they shouldn't be handling/owning a firearm?

I quit a gun club where, after starting a weekly defensive pistol league, bullet holes started appearing in the roof and walls. Some members, despite years of experience and "training", couldn't get through a match without muzzle sweeping other members. There was more than one accidental discharge, too.
Would you feel safer knowing one or more of these guys lived in your town?

There's a lot of responsibility involved in just handling a firearm in a controlled environment such as a organized shooting range, let alone out in the general public while under duress.
I just hope that the people who do carry have very carefully considered the responsibility they have assumed and the consequences of a bad decision on their part.

It's not all "Big hero shoots the bad guy and saves the day"!

I have to agree, I have seen plenty of Marines and LEOs commit every type of gun handling offense. In a dense crowd, it is difficult for anyone to not put others at risk.

 

[rockquarry]

There's no reason to be critical of someone who chooses not to carry a firearm. It's their choice and their business, not anyone else's. Their paranoia level is likely quite low, so low in fact that they don't have a packed doomsday bailout kit by the front door. They probably don't have a flashlight collection and get by fine with a regular ballpoint pen rather than a tactical one. And they likely don't criticize those who legally carry firearms as they figure it's not any of their business.

 

[STCM(SW)]

With a disabled wife and at my age I am always armed.....
Paranoid? No, but as being a Boy Scout way back when, Be Prepared!!

 

[stanmerrell]

I agree. It's very sad that crimes like these are able to be perpetrated on innocents. Mass shootings would stop if even only half the populace were armed nowadays, most people do not feel obligated to protect themselves and innocents. I'm not sure why. Definitely the me generation thing...

 

[326MOD10]

The very Constitution that you believe gives you the right to carry also gives them the right not to.

Live and let live (or in this case let die) and this Country would be a lot better off than it is right now. Not everyone believes or choses to live the same way.

 

[.455_Hunter]

There's no reason to be critical of someone who chooses not to carry a firearm. It's their choice and their business, not anyone else's. There paranoia level is likely quite low, so low in fact that they don't have a packed doomsday bailout kit by the front door. They probably don't have a flashlight collection and get by fine with a regular ballpoint pen rather than a tactical one.

Actually, there is a significant population as so described who think it is absurd for "normal people" to be able to legally carry "hidden guns" in public.

 

[Tu_S]

From what I have seen at the ranges I go to, especially in the last few years with all the new gun owners, not everyone should have a pistol on them or even own one.

 

[Liftrat]

I often wonder that myself. The Denver paper just had a write-up on the King Soopers shooting in Boulder last year. My first thought when I heard about it was "Why was there no one carrying in that store?". 99.999%+ of the time life is "normal", it's that one time that it's not that can getchya.

 

[.455_Hunter]

I often wonder that myself. The Denver paper just had a write-up on the King Soopers shooting in Boulder last year. My first thought when I heard about it was "Why was there no one carrying in that store?". 99.999%+ of the time life is "normal", it's that one time that it's not that can getchya.

In the case would of Boulder King Soopers, which I know well and have been a patron since a young child, there are a few reasons:

- City of Boulder's general population of folks less likely to carry (read into that how you will).

- Middle of the afternoon crowd of old retirees (see above) and college students. Not many outside folks passing through who might be more apt to carry.

- Most of the victims killed were in the parking lot, front loading area, or just inside the doors. Any armed folks inside the store may have taken the chance to exit stage right when they had the opportunity, and I can't blame them.

 

[Rustyt1953]

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

This guarantees us all the freedom to carry or not carry.

 

[Mule Packer]

Why won't people carry? Simple. They have a sense of security about their environment. Whether that's a false sense of security or not remains to be seen.

In the example that smoothshooter gave, the middle-aged couple riding their bikes undoubtedly felt very secure in their environment. Unfortunately, they were wrong in their assessment.

 

[Beemerguy53]

It's all about one's perception of risk. If the victims in this case were in a "safe" area, one where crime is rare, they probably never gave a second thought to the need to be armed.

In my small town -- population 10,000 -- violent crime is virtually unheard-of. There have been three homicides in the last 22 years, the last one occurring in 2012. While I'm always situationally aware, my perception of risk here is a lot lower than it would be in Baltimore. Could I be the victim of a violent crime? Of course...but it's extremely unlikely.

 

[Rob613]

They are brainwashed to think they are safe, the police will arrive in time and evil doesn't exist in this world.

Don't see a whole lot of MSM reporting this story.