My First Scary Moment

[alantf]

Originally Posted by baxman

I also live in FL and have a CCW. I suggest all riders get one and get nice little carry piece for just such occasions. The LCP 380 fits nicely in my breast pocket of my jacket.

Sorry if I sound stupid, but (again), I'm not American. To me (a foreigner!) the above is gibberish. I'm not trying to be awkward - I just don't understand it. Can someone put it in different terms please?

[caroledee1]

Originally Posted by alantf

Sorry if I sound stupid, but (again), I'm not American. To me (a foreigner!) the above is gibberish. I'm not trying to be awkward - I just don't understand it. Can someone put it in different terms please?

CCW= Carry Concealed Weapon. We aren't allowed by law in Illinois to carry concealed weapons. Some states allow it with license and permits.

[JWR]

baxman lives in Florida.....Fl

CCW..........................carrying a concealed weapon (CCW, also known as concealed carry)

LCP 380....................Name of pistol..Ruger Lightweight Compact Pistol
Caliber of 380.

HTH

[mr. softie]

I used to carry a S&W 9mm (15 shot mag, 2 spare clips) all the time. I felt safer, but also more belligerent. Like Rambo sort of. Mess with me!! I'll blow your f'n head off mf! :poke2:

I no longer carry. I am more at peace with the world now. Live and let live you know. Mellow. :cool:

Saw this and thought it pertained:

[baxman]

Do not get a CCW if you have a hot-head or have a latent "Rambo" lean, But also remember that many die upon a sword who had no sword to carry.
I would rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6.
baxman

[alantf]

In England there is a TOTAL ban on handguns. Even people who belonged to gun clubs with private ranges are no longer allowed to have them. A few years ago, when this law came in, the legal gun owners had to hand them in, & they were melted down.
In actual fact, all this means is that people who posed no threat to anyone no longer have them. All the guns are in the hands of the criminals! Surely, only an English government would think that the criminals would hand them in! World gone crazy, or what?
Just in passing - In England, you're not allowed to put barbed wire on your property any more, in case a burglar hurts himself. Also the traffic police are not allowed to use the PIT maneouvre on dangerous drivers, in case the villain gets hurt!
No wonder I left.
It must be great to be in a country where you can defend yourself, but (I'm not joking) in England, if you fight off a mugger, you will be charged with assault, & the mugger will go free because you "assaulted" him.

[mr. softie]

In Nazi Germany, and in any Nazi controlled area during their sad reign, any civilian caught with any firearm was executed. The first step of any government leaning towards tyranny is to restrict gun ownership. This is why we must defend our right to arm ourselves if we don't want to wind up with a foot on our throats.

I still have a permit to carry a concealed weapon, and consider carrying if I am going into a bad area, say Philadelphia, but I can't carry across state lines. A lot of my favorite rides take me into New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland where I would be illegal with a weapon. I have saved myself from a bad a** kicking or worse several times by showing my piece BTW. Lucky for everyone concerned the aggressors backed off instead of pulling theirs (if they had them). If you do carry you have to be willing and able to shoot someone before they shoot you.

[alanmcorcoran]

Originally Posted by mr. softie

If you do carry you have to be willing and able to shoot someone before they shoot you.

And:

Be prepared to be sued by them or their survivors.
Be prepared to be investigated.
Be prepared to be ostracized as a violent "crazy."
Be prepared to move and possibly go into hiding. With the rest of your immediate family.
Be prepared for likely retaliation or revenge, legal and otherwise.

In short, better be worth it. (I'm pro-gun BTW, but, like softie, do not trust myself to carry one.)

Originally Posted by alantf

In England there is a TOTAL ban on handguns.

Okay, against my better judgment, I'll pipe in on this thread. I live right near Canada, which also has a virtual ban on handguns. Windsor, Ontario is right across the river from Detroit. The homocide rates are not even comparable, not in the same sphere, even. I am a historian/social science guy by trade, and that doesn't make what I am saying anything but my opinion, but I will tell you the numbers just don't lie. The U.S. leads the world in handgun murders every year with about 15,000. Russia is second with about half that. Both are countries with wide availability of handguns and a "wild west" mentality. England, Canada, Japan, coutries with strict gun laws are not anywhere near US/Russia. Toronto has about 50 gun homocides a year; NY about 600.

Most people who are shot are shot by someone they know well, the majority of those relatives. That's not my opinion - that's based on police reports. Of course it's crazy we treat criminals with kid gloves, but if a lot of guns are around, people will use them, and mostly in situations where alcohol, drugs, temper, emotion, etc. supersede good judgment. Two guys who get in an argument will shoot each other if they both have guns when they otherwise might have just kicked each others' ass? The scenario where you shoot someone breaking into your house is not likely, is a long-shot. A very long shot.

I'm not looking to take away any of your guns, BTW. Just offering a different perspective.

kk

[JWR]

mr. softie wrote:
If you do carry you have to be willing and able to shoot someone before they shoot you.


Thanks to the United States Military (10-65 to 10-71) for letting me be trained in the Infantry.
Free bullets!!!!

Why do you think we were trained to hit a target from twenty-five yards to a quarter mile away?