How many of you conceal carry on a regular basis?

First, my point isn't getting through. I don't carry with the intent to "protect your rear." Anybody who carries should have the same mindset.

I see your point, but shooting a gun isn't really like shooting a basketball, especially in a self-defense scenario. Consider the range at which you're aiming. 3-pointers are a long-range shot, so someone who can make 40% with no pressure will drop to what? 10-20% under pressure?

I can think of very few self-defense scenarios where it would be appropriate to take a shot from more than 10 yards. 10 yards is even pushing it. There are lots of drills you can do to improve the speed of your target acquisition and aim so that under pressure it's more second nature.

@Here's My Wallet:

I would hope common sense would tell anyone not to draw on someone who already has theirs drawn.

sam w wrote:

This depends on the state you live in. In Wisconsin, for example, I a criminal case in which self defense is raised the prosecutor must prove the absence of self defense beyond a reasonable doubt.

That may look tough for prosecutors on paper, but in practice the same strict criteria still apply to a self-defense claim. The defendant is still an affirmative, with a long checklist of conditions that must be supported by evidence. The prosecution need only prove one of those conditions is not met, to prove the whole claim invalid. The defendant builds a house of cards, and the prosecution must knock down one card beyond a reasonable doubt.

Other posts mention things like training and thinking rationally. Training is insufficient because it can't predict fight-or-flight response. Some people stay cool, some get overwhelmed by adrenaline and can't think straight or act reasonably.

If I can see someone's weapon, then I know who the wild cards are if a situation does develop. So open carry is better than concealed carry. People don't like open carry because it's rude, but avoiding being rude is no justification for concealment.

The risk of deadly violence is also highly exaggerated in the United States. About 14000 Americans die every two days. About 14000 Americans die by homicide every year. Homicide isn't a very popular form of death, even compared to auto accidents and suicides.

neanderthal dream wrote:

One more thing.

All you anti-gun folk pretend like sh*t never happens. You pretend that there aren't creeps or people who are desperate or are just plain messed up, that our society is all rainbows and smiles. You would prefer to trust chance that you'll never be in a situation where your life or the life of your loved ones is at risk.

When I was younger, someone very close to me was parked with his girlfriend in a secluded canyon. A truck with 2 men pulled up behind him, forced him out of his car at the point of a shotgun and raped his girlfriend, taking turns holding the gun to his head. And they were never caught.

There are people who are absolute monsters in this world. I don't carry because I live in constant fear of people like that. I carry because it's simple and easy, and I feel there's no excuse not to. The odds of something like this are small, but it happens. Carrying doesn't give you automatic immunity, but it gives you an option, where otherwise you might be resigned to helplessly having your face ground in the dirt while someone you love is tortured.

Everyone should carry something, even if it's just mace. Hell, mace is only $5-10, do yourself a favor and keep some on your keychain or in your pocket if you don't like the idea of carrying a gun.

Bad Wigins wrote:

You're more likely to shoot some purse snatcher in the back and go to prison than stop a mad gunman at the shopping mall. You're also more likely to aggravate a situation where a gun is being used coercively with no intent to fire, such as a robbery. When a vigilante draws down on a robber, he turns the loss of a few hundred dollars into a gun battle risking the lives of everyone present.

I know that in the year 2012, the idea of someone carrying a gun around is crazy for many - particularly those on the East Coast. People logically think, "how can having a gun around help matters?'

But we are talking about people who have gone to the trouble of getting a permit. My question to Mr. Wiggins and I'm not saying this because I know the answer is - can anyone give me numerous of someone with a permit who aggravate a situation?

I can't think of any and I"m not trying to be inflammatory.

Sincerely,

Friend of Rojo.

PS.If a guy is robbing people with a gun, he deserves to be shot. Same thing with the purse snatcher - and that is kind of inflammatory but what I believe.

Justin91 wrote:

924-CGV wrote:

This thread makes me so happy and proud to live in a country where guns are illegal.

You mean like the UK where thugs rob the same elderly couple over and over again, and they constantly live in fear even inside their own house?

No, I don't live in the UK.

And your post really has nothing to do with anything, anyway.

friend of rojo wrote:

My question to Mr. Wiggins and I'm not saying this because I know the answer is - can anyone give me numerous of someone with a permit who aggravate a situation?

PS.If a guy is robbing people with a gun, he deserves to be shot. Same thing with the purse snatcher - and that is kind of inflammatory but what I believe.

Looks like you knew the answer after all. If there's someone with a concealed gun thinking about who deserves to be shot, that aggravates the situation.

An armed robber shows intent to coerce, not to fire. Pointing a gun at him is a good way to change his mind. Then people are more likely to get shot, including ones who don't deserve it.

I try to be more left leaning on things (yes gays should marry, yes we should reduce our military spending, yes we should focus more on enviromental protection ect) but why do liberals have to be so damn whinny? If I were in a dark theater with chaos running rampant and there was a gunman shooting people even in body armor, yes I would take my shot and risk hitting innocents (in the hopes that it would either kill him or atleast distract him consequences be damned) rather than go meekly into the night. Better that than get shot cowering under a seat. Thank you, you just made up my mind for a concealed carry permit.

Some of these recent posts are amazing.

'When I was younger, someone very close to me was parked with his girlfriend in a secluded canyon. A truck with 2 men pulled up behind him, forced him out of his car at the point of a shotgun and raped his girlfriend, taking turns holding the gun to his head. And they were never caught'

If they did not have a gun this might not have happened. So they could get it illegally but in the UK even carrying gets an authomatic 5 year sentence. Its easier to outrun a knife than a bullet

I have no problem with someone shooting a robber but you need to look at the wider picture of what happens if you give any idiot a gun. even this wk some nut went crazy in Oregon

The main problem in the UK is softer sentencing than the US for robberies mugging etc

I see that as a worthless hypothetical. There are more than 300 million non-military guns in the US, it isn't logical to even talk about trying to reclaim them.

Not to mention the right to bear arms was one of the core issues of the US breaking away in the first place. It's literally in the DNA of this country. There may come a day when the voice of the people favors a flat-out gun ban, but I hope we never get that stupid.

Justin91 wrote:

Tom Joad wrote:

Probably means the UK where the murder rate is 1.2 per 100,000 people (vs. the 4.2 per 100,000 in the USA)

The UK has had a homicide rate about 10x lower than the United States for over a hundred years. That's what happens when one country takes the poor of another country. But murder rates in the UK are 52% higher than when gun control began. By contrast, in Switzerland virtually everyone is a member of the national guard and has an assault rifle, and yet murder rates are just 0.7 per 100,000 -about half that of the UK.

Your simplistic analysis does not suffice.

Huh? I stated the murder rates in the UK and the USA. No more. How do you interpret an accurate statement of facts as "a simplistic analysis" that "does not suffice".

And wtf are you talking about one country taking the poor of another?

You gun nuts are a truly stupid and immature bunch. Another reason you should not be allowed to own guns

Er... wrote:

And the truth is, you didn't need it that day either.

fisky wrote:

In the 10 years I've held the CCW, I've needed a firearm only once. It made carrying on all the other days I didn't need it well worth the hassle.

In the way more than 10 years I have been on this planet I have never had the need for or known anyone that has ever had the need for a gun.

You're all a bunch of cowardly nut cases afraid that black or brown men are coming for you

neanderthal dream wrote:

[quote]neanderthal dream wrote:

One more thing.

"All you anti-gun folks pretend like sh*t never happens."

Sh*t happens all the time to people with guns. Just recently a teen-aged boy down the road from me accidentally (we think) killed his little brother. A man at a gun show just accidentally killed his 7 year old son. A hunter killed a college student thinkin his was a bear. Several people have taken their own lives.

"..Soccer Mom pulls out gun in panic when strange guy approaches her looking for directions.."

yeah, happens every day, right? Not exactly. In fact, it never happens. You clowns are 'asscinating worrying about a good guy making a bad shot in a fracas, rather than the bad guy who is actually intentionally shooting you.

Tom Joad wrote:

Er... wrote:

And the truth is, you didn't need it that day either.

In the way more than 10 years I have been on this planet I have never had the need for or known anyone that has ever had the need for a gun.

You're all a bunch of cowardly nut cases afraid that black or brown men are coming for you

No offense taken at the previous remark, since so many posters just write stuff to get a raise out of people. Still,I guess I should reply to this, since I'm fisky and this is a registered name. It was late December 2009 at the I-75 Exit 413 rest area in Florida. We had stopped to stretch in the truck area since I was driving an RV. To make a long story short, I got suckered into a professional scam by a group of about ten men. When I realized it was a scam, I yelled to the old couple across the circle that it was a scam and not to give the guy any money. The BIG guy beside me hit me hard enough on the shoulder to knock down a small guy like me. I was 62 at the time, but I'm still pretty agile for an old guy so I didn't fall. I put my hand behind my back on my gun in my hip pocket and said "Get away from me! This is a scam!" The entire circle of men froze and looked at me. I had thought one guy was running the scam, but I suddenly realized EVERYONE was in on it except me and the old senior couple. I started backing away, yelling for help. Two big guys followed me, taunting me that I had nothing. One was in front and one flanking me to the side. Finally, my wife by the RV saw me and called 911. We were out in the open by then. I was backing away from them with my left hand out in the universal stop position and my right hand on my handgun, yelling... Get away from me. Help! Call 911!!. The guys finally turned around. When I got to my truck, I was shaking like a leaf. Another guy had followed and sat down on a nearby bench to watch the RV. I pulled out my bigger handgun from the console and held it sideways in the window so he could see that I really was armed. He got up and walked away. We waited until the police arrived. It took about 30 minutes. They told us that this group was running the same scam at truck stops and other southbound rest areas. Some victims had been beaten pretty badly when they caught on and tried to resist.

Karl Hungus wrote:

Relax, guys. The armed robber PROBABLY won't kill you.

Exactly. When someone pulls a gun on someone in a robbery, how the heck does the victim know what they plan to do? Right, they don't. And I don't know what the various laws say, but if any of them they say, "You must wait for the person pointing the gun at you to shoot first," they're stupid and wrong. Think this is too violent? Then start a program to train robbers not to point guns at people (with private money, please).

Just a quick follow-up... I did a lot of things wrong that day, but I was tired from driving for hours and everything happened so fast. The really dumb thing was that I could have easily run away from these big fat guys if had been wearing running shoes instead of boots. I almost never wear shoes I can't run in now.

As a non-US citizen, this discussion is completely out of context for me. Where I live it's extremely rare for a private citizen to be able to carry a gun in public. People here don't really think about guns, because guns are simply not part of our culture. I can't imagine wanting to carry a gun, although I am well capable, having had about 15 years of military experience and plenty of experience (and marksman qualifications) with firearms.

Guns don't ever make it onto the long list of things I think about on a daily basis.

The anti-gun nuts are really boggling my mind around here. What a bunch of willing victims who are oblivious to the realities of society. Even in your Utopian world without crime we still have the RIGHT to carry and anyone who questions another person for exercising their rights is a fool.

This nonsense about guns causing crime is like saying that a fork caused Chris Christie to be fat.

Tell me this: If you were a criminal and looking for targets, would you choose the person you assumed was armed? Probably not, right? Well if you assumed everyone was armed then you wouldn't have many targets and crime would drop significantly.