Any tPF civilians "packing?"

^ He means choose not to live here. He says he would leave the playing field (and is chiming in the background 'I am tired, did I not make sense?!') :amuse:

I know I am on the same page as Vlad, but I really find it frightening how many people do have guns in the US. How easy it is to obtain them, how classes are not a REQUIREMENT to have a gun, etc.

I am not saying it does not make sense that many people have guns- this world is frightening, especially the US for how civilized we are. But it is terrifying to me to know how many people have guns that can not use them properly, that do not know. I can not imagine the feeling of being robbed and taking my gun out... trying to shoot the person robbing me, and ending up shooting someone else. So many innocent people become victims of stray bullets, like my father.
 
^ He means choose not to live here. He says he would leave the playing field (and is chiming in the background 'I am tired, did I not make sense?!') :amuse:

I know I am on the same page as Vlad, but I really find it frightening how many people do have guns in the US. How easy it is to obtain them, how classes are not a REQUIREMENT to have a gun, etc.

I am not saying it does not make sense that many people have guns- this world is frightening, especially the US for how civilized we are. But it is terrifying to me to know how many people have guns that can not use them properly, that do not know. I can not imagine the feeling of being robbed and taking my gun out... trying to shoot the person robbing me, and ending up shooting someone else. So many innocent people become victims of stray bullets, like my father.

I totally agree! I think people should learn how to use a gun even if they don't plan on owning one. Safety is very important when it comes to something that has so much power. It's something that shouldn't be taken lightly nor played with.
 
^ The degree of training one would need to fully understand how to operate a gun, when to shoot when not to shoot, how to store, how to aim, how to act, is so extensive.

I wish there were mandatory classes. I wish the world was a safer place too though
 
9mm Glock (My SO has two, I use one of his). I'm hoping to get a Walther PPK soon from my mom. When I moved to South Florida and started living alone, I felt carrying a weapon was a necessity. Now I don't live there anymore, but I still like having one. Gotta love a 9mm Pistol in an Hermés bag! :roflmfao: I don't carry it all the time, though. When I go to another town by myself or go shopping or to somewhere where I might feel ill-at-ease or unfamiliar (IE, downtown), I'll carry it, but usually it's on/in the nightstand where SO can grab it if we're being robbed/our house broken into. SO grew up in Detroit and so has always carried a firearm and has had a license since the age of 18. He is relaxing a little now that he lives in Hillbilly Hell with me, and realizes it's not a necessity to be armed all the time down here.

Oh and FYI, my dad spent extensive time with me from the age of 14 teaching me how to shoot and properly handle firearms, and my SO is always "adding to my training." Where I grew up (Arkansas) it's pretty commonplace to have a gun, but I believe in extensive training and practice with them.
 
I've never owned one but my father had one in the house for protection (though why I am not sure as we were living on a very safe military base at the time). I remember during my childhood snooping through my parents closet one day while home alone trying to find my present for either birthday or Christmas and I found it in a shoebox unsecured. I remember playing with it for a while which is really scary to think now what could have happened and my lil brother was home with me at the time.

I personally hate guns but am on the fence about everyday citizen's right to own them. The bad guys are going to get them regardless, whether legal or not, and I know many feel that well if they have them we should be able to have them also so maybe the bad guys will think twice if they know their victim may be armed. The violence, with or without guns, in this country is just out of control....it doesn't matter if you are in a gated community or the inner city or in between...no one is safe from it. The bad seeds among us will achieve their goal whether with a gun, knife, machete, bat, fist or whatever. I too am fearful of the incorrect snap judgments some people may make when afraid...especially as skin color alone can be enough to make some afraid in this country. The highly trained police cannot even seem to make accurate judgments at times before shooting and killing innocent young men.

I'm with Vlad as the thought of raising children here sometimes is just scary....not just violence and guns but education, healthcare (after watching the Sicko documentary by Michael Moore), and a multitude of other things.
 
You are not allowed to shoot someone to stop them. According to NC law-
Deadly force is justified if the following conditions are met(my understanding all must be met simutaneously):
Necessary to prevent imminent threat of death, great harm, sexual assault.
Another person in the same situation would have acted the same way.
The person using deadly force was not the instigator.
Force used was not excessive. 1 bullet vs. 6. A leg shot vs. a chest shot.

You can only shoot someone in your home if one of the four conditions above are present. If only property is threatened, deadly force cannot be used. You also have the duty to "retreat" even before using deadly force. If property and life are threatened (armed robbery) then you can use deadly force, if the four conditions are met.

If the four conditions are met, you can use deadly force to stop someone prior to entering your home. If the intruder is in your home, the four conditions must be met before you can use deadly force against them. You must ask them to leave, you can push them out, but if the four conditions are not present, and you shoot them, you are opening yourself up for trouble especially if they live.

A man(who had been through CC training) in my community shot a home intruder, four conditions met. Did not kill intruder. Intruder then sued the homeowner --paraded character witnesses that said this boy was only a thief, would not hurt anyone(yet still conveyed threat to life of homeowner). The homeowner won, however he did have to foot the legal bills for his defense.
See, that scares me! The thought of ME or one of my family members shooting someone for BREAKING AND ENTERING INTO OUR HOME is entirely f[]cked up and then getting punished for it seems so ridiculous. I can't believe there are thieves that actually get away with suing homeowners who hurt them while they were inside their home trying to rob them. :cursing:
 
Shoulder holster.

Guns don't make you safe or give you a safe feeling.

Vlad, your example in my mind (since it's my words you're quoting) DO NOT call for using or even showing a gun, not even mentioning "I'm packing" to the person. It's illegal here to show a gun that way. I'd just call the cops!! When say safety I mean I'm home alone with my family and a bastard comes into our home armed and threatening. Or I'm all alone in the office, all 4'9" of me, and a man I've sent to jail for doing something illegal comes in, armed or not, acts belligerant and comes for me. I'm not taking any chances. I used to think like you, Vlad. Guns used to scare the $#!+ out of me. They somewhat still do (they're a huge responsabilty and our lives as well as others depend of being level headed when it comes to firearms).

I couldn't have said it better! Thanks bravorodrig!

Ok, I have a shoulder holster, an Alessi, I like it.
THAT SAID..honestly I don't carry much at all. I would not carry when I go to the mall, or out with friends.no no no. But if I have to go to the ATM at 10:00PM, yep. And just for the record, I agree with Vlad. I really do not like to feel the need to have lethal protection, I think it is downright sad. I don't feel powerful, happy or anything else carrying the weapon. I wish I lived somewhere where I could feel safe all the time, but southern CA is not it.

Thanks Irishgal...ironically I just ordered a custom Alessi shoulder holster yesterday. The waiting period is 24 weeks, but from the reviews I have read it will be worth it!

You all make a lot of valid points here. I thought it was very scary how easy it was for me to buy a gun. I am all for making training and qualifying a condition of purchase, but I doubt we will see that day.
 
A friend was recently shot and killed in a home invasion. He was an expert marksman and a life-long gun collector with a huge, huge collection.

I wish the world were a better place.
 
Wow, this is crazy that so many people carry guns here. I am a police officer in California and I have a right to carry one 24/7 and I can't even remember the last time I did off-duty. I know maybe a handful of cops that carry one off-duty.....most cops don't. In California, you DEFINITELY CANNOT carry a firearm on a school campus (unless you are law enforcement) and it is darn near impossible for a civilian to obtain a concealed weapons permit. Most people are more likely to get killed with their own gun than kill their attacker. JMO tho.........I 100% think that civilians should NOT be able to carry firearms outside of their own home, there is just no need to especially since they have no formal training (unless they are military or ex military). And I am talking formal, rigid, "real" training, not just going to the range avery month or two.

This is all just my opinion and I am not attacking or criticizing members that do feel the need to carry a firearm....that said, hopefully no one is offended....just as I am not offended by people who think the polar opposite of me.
 
^ Kristie, that is really my thought too :yes:

But I also see people's points with how scary the world is that we live in, but I still would never carry a gun or even buy one.
 
Work in a hospital. 19 year old at a party, his "friend" shot him 5-6 times in the abdomen, pelvis and upper legs. He has no abdominal muscles, they were too damaged to save. He has a fistula(tract) that developed from his stomach to the outside of his body. If he tries to eat, it comes out through a hole in his skin to the outside of his body. He is on IV feedings and is wasting so bad he looks skeletal.

Another guy tried to kill himself, shot himself in the face, completely missed his brain, tore his entire jaw and nose off. He walks the hallways wrapped up, missing half of his face.

I believe those things should be broadcast on TV daily. I believe high school students should have to visit morgues and nursing homes. The general population doesn't get enough "before and after" when it comes gun violence.