Do you carry?

[Phoenix-D]

Odd. Every permit course I've ever heard of has said you -don't- do warning shots. Mainly because you don't know where the things are going to come down..

Special circumstances, perhaps?

[troopie]

Special circumstances. I had to explain my actions to a judge and was cautioned not to fire any more warning shots.

troopie

[El_Phil]

Which would imply that next time you should stick to a verbal warning (normally ineffective) or just shoot the person in question. Tricky.

[Atrocities]

I have a CW permit and have had one since 91. I have carried on and off as needed since then. The one thing that comes to mind when you carry is that the responsibility to avoid conflict shifts squarely into your hands. You as the person carrying a firearm are made responsible for any situation you get into. Knowing you have a gun that could be used as a weapon give you tremendous responsibly that cannot be taken lightly. Those who get a high from carrying because they think it makes them powerful, or allow such a thing to go to their heads should have their license taken from them and be beaten with bat.

Carrying a gun makes you accountable for any action you take. If you get into an argument or altercation and pull that firearm without cause, or even if you do not and it is seen, you WILL most likely go to jail or at the very lest it will be confiscated and you WILL loose your permit. It has been my experience that most people who choose to carry often avoid any situation that might escalate into conflict. I would say that most even go so far as backing down from altercations that they normally would not do otherwise.

I have only had to pull my gun ONCE in my life and that was the scariest thing I had done up to that point. I knew that if the situation continued to worsen, as it was doing, I would have no choice but to end someone’s life. Thankfully the man saw reason, or God, which ever, and the situation was resolved without any one getting harmed.

I am lucky though; I have been around guns my entire life and know what they can be made to do. I have had training upon training upon training and still feel uncomfortable around them when around people who have had no training.

I support a national carry law because I think it is high time that the conceal carry laws between states be made uniform thus allowing a legal CW licensee to carry in any state they happen to travel through, including New York and Massachusetts.

This is not a gun debate, currently we have the legal right to own firearms and until the Democrats take that right from us, I feel any American who wants to own a gun, should do so and hopefully will consider taking a training and or safety class. No one wants to see his or her gun used to harm another.

[Xrati]

"Deadly Force" is only justifiable when your LIFE or someone else is in question! You have the right to "keep and bear arms", not to freely use them. We'd have less problems with guns if we had more training for them.

I come across so many parents that have an anti-gun mentality. When I tell them that their 'bubble' world for their children is not possible and explain to them, should their child be involved with friends that had a gun (for whatever reason) wouldn't they want to know that at least one of them would know enough about gun safety to make a difference in the outcome of the situation! I don't get any more arguments from them...

Is there anybody from Australia out there? I'd like to know how their country wide gun ban is going? I hear it's not going well!

[FJ_MD]

I don't understand why a common citizen have to carry a gun, a knife, a bat.....

[Jack Simth]

FJ_MD said:
I don't understand why a common citizen have to carry a gun, a knife, a bat.....

It is better if the need is not present.
However, if the need is present (or has a "reasonable" chance of becoming present), it is better for the common citizen to have such than not.
Consider an area where the police response time is three minutes, and valiant bystanders are scarce. If someone pulls a knife and tells you to go away while he forcefully has his way with your wife, which would you prefer? The ability to shoot and kill him yourself immediately, or the ability to call for aid which will arrive in three minutes time who are willing to shoot and kill him - if not for the fact that he knows the local response time and finishes up and leaves and one minute prior to their arrival ... perhaps with your wife dead, perhaps not.

This of course assumes that everything runs smoothly for the comparison - that there are no areas where the police will not answer calls, that he would let you out of his sight to make the call, and that all police potentially involved are honest. If you carry and know appropriet use of a firearm, at worst you need a 10 second distraction to terminate the situation (and that individual, and any further situations he may have caused in like manner), areas where police will not answer calls (or that have longer response times) become mostly immaterial, and the police force can have a few compromised individuals without adding further risk to the life of your wife.

Here is a link to a (slanted) list of questions on the subject that can sometimes help people clarify their own positions on the subject (and also occasionally change a person's position).

[tigertunes]

No and No its illegal in the UK and i dont believe we can get a liscence to acrry a weapon at least not in public unless you wear a uniform a a Badge