http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0722998120080311

This should be interesting.

Oldish news. Been waiting patiently for a month or so...

Whats with the need to carry a fire arm?

This place attracts anti-gun Canadians like a cheap hockey game.

Church shootings-that's why

At least you didn't ask what's with the need to own them.

As for why I carry everywhere...VA Tech, Mall shooting, New Life Church, Columbine, etc...I would rather be prepared and have the chance to save my life than be helpless. Thanks for playing.

Rinky, something about how they got their independence...

Oh for pete's sake, you have better odds of winning the lottery than being in a situation where having a firearm could save someone's life.
I'm not against legal gun ownership, but I think most of the rabid pro-gun folks are a bit out there.

Well I guess I should've bought a lottery ticket a couple of months ago then.

Hey Brent, thanks for providing absolutely NOTHING worthwhile to the discussion. I choose to provide myself with the protection I MIGHT need...right that's way out there. Do you wear your seatbelt? Do you have home owner's insurance? Wow...you're a bit out there.

But, you will never EVER understand why I carry because you have your mind made up.

Unless you're in New Hampshire, it's the law.

Are you saying the odds of the two are the same? Or even remotely close? That's funny.

I don't care if you carry, but I agree with Brent...a LOT of gun owners run up the "just in case" argument. That's about as useful as me saying I always carry a parachute with me just in case the plane I'm in is headed to the ground.

Then don't carry. Pretty simple.

You and Brent won't get it, and I don't care that you won't get it. It doesn't matter to me, you're allowed to have your own opinions but I'm not going to bother explaining anything to you...you, just like Brent, have made up your mind so it'd be a wasted effort.

No, I get it. You want to be prepared. There's nothing wrong with that.

But I think a lot of it borders on paranoia. Just like those who are scared to death we are going to be attacked by terrorists and stock up on supplies.

And I don't. Never will. I will never own a gun. But that doesn't mean I don't think you should be able to.

carrying a gun is like having a spare tire around. You may never need it but when you do you really need it.

And you wouldn't lean toward something limiting his access or free use and carry of one either. :rolleyes:

I do not think that me wanting that security is anything paranoid. I am not implying that you are calling me paranoid, but I am just establishing a truth.

The truth is, I do not own a gun, but I have always wanted one "just in case"

Now, to the future poster who wants to quote me on that, I already put the quotes in there.

Have YOU ever been in a situation where you wish you had a gun?

Maybe you have not had a close call, or maybe you have and still feel the same.

http://www.roninwheelers.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=1616&highlight=thankful

We all have our ideas of what is overboard. I for one think it is a wise decision, and I apply this same thinking to other aspects of life.

Tyler made some comparisons.

When you drive around do you carry stuff with you?

I have a sleeping bag, 2 blankets, 20 granola bars, drinking water, beef jerky, trail mix, a mess kit, 2 lanterns, 4 9v batteries, a hobo tool, a camp axe, an all purpose tarp, 2 ponchos, a dual burner propane stove,2 propane tanks,a fire extinguisher, some synthetic oil, antifreeze, windshield fluid, jumper cables a battery charger, 4 light sticks, a 201 pc. Fist aid kit, a snake bite kit, 3 cold compresses, and about 200 spare fuses of all sizes. (All of this fits in my lobo rack)

I am sure that everyone keeps some of the above items around. One may think that is obsessive but that is up to them.

The way we feel about guns can be directly related as to how we feel about other things.

Either way, all things CAN be compared in this instance. Whether it is a tool kit in your X or a gun on your person, it CAN be compared.

Which would happen more often? You will probably use the tool kit more often. It is all up to a level of preparedness and to each his own.

This is to say that this should never turn into a debate on whether or not I am ok with your level of preparedness. I am not going to try to get you to take the oil out of your trunk because you probably will not need it, and you shouldn't try to convince me that I do not need a gun. The "might" factor is what applies, and each person has a different depth of how much "might" preparation they need to take.

Whether you think Tyler, or I am excessive or not is not the point and it is not the topic and shouldn't even be discussed.

I find it kind of strange that this topic seems to start a shit-storm every time it's brought up, yet it hasn't even been mentioned on the election trail in the States.....did someone say cheap hockey game? Where? When?... :p

Hmmm, I've been in two situations Brent. Break-in at my then girlfriends apartment in the Hill district and attempted car jacking on 2nd avenue in Hazelwood. Gun saved us both times and I fortunately I didn't have to fire a shot. I will never not carry.

I've never won the lottery though....

Edited to add: I filed police reports in both cases and Pittsburgh Police though "concerned" stated that there wasn't much they could do even with what I thought were decent descriptions of the assailants. Nothing ever came of it, the police were useless at the time of the incidents and unfortunately useless after the fact also. Not panning the Police, just saying they couldn't help us.

Moby, I'm paranoid. I own a fire extinghishers, and have fire alarms in my home. I have car, motorcyclee, health, and life insurance. I also keep a first aid kit in the house and in my vehicles. I have my police, fire department, and ambulance service posted on the fridge and in my cell phone memory.

Yep, I'm just paranoid man. What happens to me or my family if the insurance companies find that I didn't have any fire alarms in my home? What happens if I'm in an accident and I don't have insurance? What does my family do if I am killed and I don't have life insurance? I spend literally thousands on "forced" what-ifs and incase-shit-happens, yet I'm paranoid for spending a couple hundred bucks a year owning and carrying a firearm? Come on, that's BS man.

The second amendment exists so that we can shoot them when they come to take our guns.

Again, I have no problem with gun ownership, I just find a lot of pro-gun folks are a little too serious about it.

Nope, I wouldn't. Like I've said many times - I'm pretty much completely neutral on the gun subject. I am fine with people being allowed to have guns - but I also wouldn't care if limits were imposed.

I mentioned these things in a previous post. The chances of those other things happening...are MUCH more likely than what was used as a reason to carry - the shootings at schools, etc. I'm not talking about instances like those that you have dealt with.

So that's not paranoia...it's economic.

You might be breaking the law - are there any states that allow a license without proof of insurance (or at least proof of the financial wherewithall to cover an accident)?

Sounds economic again.

If you are only carrying for the reasons mentioned - shootings by some nutcase at a school or something, yes...paranoia.

Well, now I know you aren't insinuating it's only for that reason (government). And like I said...I have no problem with you carrying. Have at it. It's not going to make me think any less of you. But if you simply carry it because you think there's a chance you might be at the mall when a nutcase comes through...then it's paranoia. If you are carrying only because you think there's a "chance" someone may come into your classroom with a gun to shoot people...then it's paranoia.

The argument that someone gets a CCW permit and carries a firearm because they are paranoid is completely ridiculous. The reason that people do is because they can. It's a matter of choice. It has nothing to do with paranoia.

I've also seen some people here claim that the odds of being involved in a violent crime are similar to that of hitting the lottery. That is a ridiculous statement born of sheer ignorance.

In the United States your chances of being involved in a violent crime are surprising. It's about one in twenty. Depending on where you live, the odds could be lower or maybe higher. The chances that an average person will be involved in a violent crime are about the same as being hurt in a car accident.

There is also statistical data that reveals localities that opened up and allowed concealed carry had a reduction in gun crime and violent crime in general.

Here in NYC there is a defacto ban on concealed carry. A citizen can get a permit, but it is extremely difficult and virtually impossible for the average citizen. For the most part the people who carry are law enforcement and all with peace officer status; retired law enforcement and retired peace officers; and criminals. The criminals and those who illegally carry far exceed the numbers of those who legally carry.