License To Carry / Concealed Weapons Permit (POLL)

[Sonya]

Oy, thats all I can say at this point....you certainly make a habit to dissect others coments and turn them into what you want them to be, just so you have something to argue about....have fun with that, I am sure it is tiring.

 

[Jill]

I really find it sad that some people in the U.S. do not feel safe unless they are walking around in paranoia with a loaded gun.. and hope it is not getting contagious.. I feel it makes things MORE dangerous out there for the average citizen..

By the looks of this poll.. it makes me feel more safe when I travel back home to the U.S... which I am doing next week for a wedding.. near downtown Detroit.. without a gun.

Downtown Detroit, huh? Good thing the gangs there are unarmed (not). Some perspectives just boggle my mind

... Regardless, I hope you have a great trip and of course, a safe one.

 

[Jill]

PS Detroit has rampant gang activity and one of the highest violent crime rates in the Nation, and it's not the people who legally carry that are behind the city's statistics.

See: FBI: Detroit's violent crime rate second-highest in nation

 

[Sonya]

Hopefully the water will all be dried up by next week for your trip, we had horrific storms here Thursday and parts of I75 and 69 were flooded and closed. I had lakefront property for a couple days. There are some nice areas on the way outskirts of Detroit, but downtown is very rough, as in lots of major cities....I think Flint is even worse these days and it's not that big.

 

[Jill]

Mary Lou, I didn't voice an opinion on all of Detroit, or really ANY opinion (just a fact, Jack).

Detroit has the 2nd highest violent crime rate in the Nation. Downtown Detroit was specifically mentioned and is highly violent. It's not information or knowledge I pulled out of the air. And, yes, Sonya, Flint did "beat" Detroit in the contest of most violent cities in the USA.

We get to make our own choices in this Nation when it comes to gun ownership. From my perspective -- partly because I am trained, comfortable and responsible -- I don't find a personal downside to having the ability to protect myself. Of course, I hope I never have to. However, if I'm in the wrong situation, I will be thankful that I have taken the steps to empower myself in the way that I have. Moreover, on a day to day basis, I like the peace of mind it grants me.

 

[Minimor]

I have to say that I do not "get" the Canadian aversion to guns.

I live in a neighborhood that is relatively safe. We have some odd things go one out here from time to time...things that do make me nervous...but all in all it is still safe. I can walk down the road after dark on any given night & feel quite safe, I can start my truck on a cold morning & leave it running while I get ready for work & feel quite sure that no one is going to steal it while I'm in the house, if I forget to lock the door at night it's no big deal because it's not likely anyone is going to try and come in. I would still like to be able to have a gun at hand--just in case. An RCMP officer....who does not feel it is "safe" out here...agreed with me once that a gun would be a good thing.

In the city--just 10 miles away--it is different. In the city I would not feel safe walking outside after dark. Sometimes I don't feel safe walking down the street in the middle of the day. One does not leave their car running & unattended in the city. One does not leave the door unlocked in the city, not even during the day when you're home or if you're in the back yard. It's been proven over and over again that these things are not safe in this city and I am glad that I don't live there. Unfortunately all it takes is for the wrong person to move out to this area and then bad people will be here too.

The criminals do not live by the gun control laws of this country. If the criminals do not abide by the laws then I am of the opinion that the laws should be changed so that the rest of us can be at less of a disadvantage if we want to be.

In response to an earlier post about a 7 year old girl getting killed in the crossfire between a police officer and a robber--the thing is if the officer had waited for the robber to leave the store, the life of that little girl would have been spared but there is no telling who else might have been killed or injured--a person in a passing car could have been shot, or someone out on the street or in the parking lot. One cannot say how it would have turned out. I'm not sure the officer was reacting because he had a gun....or because he was a police officer & was responding the way that he had been trained to do.

 

[Jill]

A little late for sure, but I modified the poll to add two additional choices that I should have probably included from the start

 

[Minimor]

Thanks Jill I changed my vote from the original "no" to the last option that you just added.

 

[Minimor]

ML is correct we can get a license for a long gun easy enough..but this thread is about concealed carry and handguns...it's frowned upon for us to stash a ..22 under the truck seat when we go to town and even in the house... with the law requiring that a gun being unloaded and locked up, with the ammo stored elsewhere in the house any gun properly stored is rather useless as protection against a home intruder unless he's very noisy and slow at gaining entry to the house. Sorry, I would like to have the right to have a handgun here, and to have it with me whether I'm at home or in town.

 

[Sonya]

How does it work in Canada to obtain a license for a rifle? Do they do backround checks, etc?

 

[vickie gee]

Changed my vote also.

 

[Danielle_E.]

Hey Mary Lou. Found an interesting site for you to take a look at. Seems downtown Detroit is the hub of shootings. I think this site you could check out a lot of other cities as well.

http://spotcrime.com/mi/detroit

 

[Danielle_E.]

Here Sonya, to answer your question.

Individuals who wish to possess or acquire firearms in Canada must have a valid possession-acquisition, or possession-only, licence (PAL/POL); either of these licences allows the licensee to purchase ammunition. The PAL is distributed exclusively by the RCMP and is generally obtained in the following three steps:

Safety training: To be eligible to receive a PAL, all applicants must successfully complete the Canadian Firearms Safety Course[16] (CFSC) for a non-restricted licence, and the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course[17] (CRFSC) for a restricted licence; the non-restricted class is a prerequisite to the restricted licence. The RCMP publishes information on the locations and availability of these courses.[18]

Applying for a licence: Currently only one type of licence is available to new applicants, the possession-acquisition licence (PAL). People can request a PAL by filling out Form CAFC 921.[19]

Security screening: Background checks and investigations are performed. All applicants are screened, and a mandatory 28-day waiting period is imposed on first-time applicants, but response time may be longer.[20]

Licences are typically valid for five years and must be renewed prior to expiry to maintain all classes. Once licensed, an individual can apply for a firearm transfer;[21] and an authorization to transport[22] (ATT) for restricted firearms.

(Note: People may hunt with firearms in Canada only with non-restricted firearms. This requires an additional "Hunting with Firearms" course)

 

[Sonya]

Thankyou Danielle for the info....so once you meet all the requirements for the license you can then go purchase as many rifles you want or do you have to go through a screening each time you make a purchase?

 

[andi]

Hey Mary Lou,

I really do hope that you will be able to sleep when you get here, it may be tough with the picture being painted. Here are some more numbers for you.

Chicago has a population of just under 1,000,000 people, plus 15.9 million visitors per year, so lets say about 1 Million people per day walking the streets.

For the last three years there have been 300-366 deaths per year, so to keep it simple, and judge high, lets say 365, 1 Death Per Day.

That means with these number, your chance of being shot each day is literally, 1 in a Million.

In addition, over 85% of the these deaths happen to African Americans and over 85% of these deaths happen to men. So from the very start, you only have a 15% chance of even being that 1 in a Million person who gets shot, versus men and african americans have an 85 % chance. I am not sure how that works, but I would think that means you have actually have a 1 in 15 Million chance of being shot during your visit.

Which begs the question, if Detroit is the second most dangerous place to live in America, and big cities are porpotionatly more dangerous than small suburbs and towns, how dangerous can our small towns really be?

 

[Sonya]

Here is another site like Danielle posted only this one shows more detail, you can check any major city I believe:

http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/mi/detroit/crime

this one shows the odds, ex: 1 in 41 chance of being a victim of crime, then it breaks it down to homicide, rape, assault.

It couldnt find my little town though.

Edited: I take that back, it did find even my little town but it first brought up property info, you have to click the orange tab at top for the crime info.

 

[andi]

I was trying to figure out why we see such a substantial difference in numbers and found a few things that are throwing things way of.

To answer the question, How Dangerous is Mary Lou's Trip to Detroit?, my estimates definitly should have included the ones Sonya menionted, not just murder, but all violant crimes. Also, my population was off, I had not realized what a substantial unusual drop the City took between 2009 to 2011. I think the final big difference is that the 1 in 41 chance of being a victim of a crime is if you lived there permanantly, if you were "at risk" 365 days a year. 1 in 41 is the chance you would be a victim each year. For example, if you play the lottering one time in your life you have slimmer chances of winning than if you played it every single day. It would work the same way, when asking amount Mary Lou's trip. You really have to figure out the chance per day, then multiply it by the days visiting.

When you run the numbers that way, you come up with each singular day having a 1 in 14,965 chance of being a victim of a violant crime. If you play that lottery for 365 days in a row, you have a 1 in 41 chance of "winning", aka , getting assaulted. hmm, a little dark.

All in all though, independent of our favorite Canadian Jet Setters situation, Sonya's numbers would definitly apply for the general debate of

"how safe are our towns?"

 

[Jill]

Interesting numbers. I wish I'd have throught of all the possible poll answers at the outset, as I see several people have now changed their "no" votes to a choice that better fit their situation. "Shoot" (no pun intended!) that I didn't think of the other choices initially.

 

[Danielle_E.]

Well Mary Lou just stay away From the high crime areas downtown and the very poor areas where I assume a lot of the gang activity happens. So sad!

 

[Ashley]

Those areas, those small towns, leave your door unlocked type are actually those greatest in danger. They dont expect it, its where it will happen.

I do not have the permit to carry, I dont want one. working at the prison I learned how to "shoot to kill", and amazingly I have a dead on shot with little to no effort. Thats enough gun experiance for me.