License To Carry / Concealed Weapons Permit (POLL)

[MBennettp]

Yes I do have a permit and yes I do carry my gun and yes I do feel better when I am on the road by myself. I have had occasion to pull the gun and yes if the guy had continued I would have used it. The one thing I was always taught was never pull a gun unless you intend to fire.

I had a car overheat on the highway and a hitchhiker came over the hill and started trying to get the passenger door open even though the hood was up and the flashers were on. I had my gun leveled at his head when the highway patrol pulled up behind me. The hitchhiker took off at a run back over the hill when he saw the highway patrol pull up.

The officer asked me if I was going to shoot the guy and I told him only if the guy actually gained access to the car but evidently the guy didn't think I would because even though he saw the gun, he kept trying to get into the car.

I have been on the road a lot in the last several years and my gun is always with me.

Mary

 

[Jill]

I hear you, Mary. Obviously you "get it"

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

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?

Normally I agree with most of what you say, but have to beg to differ here. For being afraid of firearms, you sure picked the wrong state to move to lol. Texas is the only state that allows deadly force for trespassers, with no questions asked.

I live in Shelbyville, Kentucky. Nice peaceful horse country. We also have the worst gang in the state centered in town. Just two weeks ago there was a med run for a woman with chest pain. Turns out, it was 4 houses down from mine, and she didn't have pain, she was beaten and forced to drive her armed boyfriend here, where they ran out of gas, and he fled the scene. So here I am 500' from a fleeing armed felon. In our peaceful, quiet horse country county.

Yes, Kentucky is relatively safe. When I lived near Denver there were murders every night. I have no interest in going up to Chicago where violence is a daily occurrence, and multiple killings every day. 1:1,000,000 for you being shot? Not really... maybe city wide. But what about the areas YOU are in? There are some VERY safe places to be in. And there are some VERY dangerous places to be in. Your chances might be 1:1,000,000,000,000 in some places, 1:10 in others. And if you aren't a long time resident, you may have VERY little idea which place is which. I've known plenty of people who were mugged at knifepoint over the years back east. It certainly happens. I just don't intend it to happen to me, or my friends, or an innocent passerby.

 

[Jill]

...our dogs were glad to see us get back home..

Aren't they always! Best part of coming home

 

[REO]

Men don't have any idea what it is to be a woman (prey) and you can tell them, but they will NEVER "get it". They might get an idea of how it feels to be a woman (prey) if they are slighter or softer built and they end up in prison somehow. There are many men that look upon women as victims, and make them so.

I'm not a sexgoddess, I'm middle aged extra fluffy housewife, but if I'm home alone and a UPS guy comes to the house, I feel aware at being vunerable. A man asking directions, I'm very wary!

NOT IN ALL CASES (so don't all jump on me) Men are more aggressive (it's nature) and women are not as physically strong and are *generally* more passive. Women DO have cause to be afraid if they are home or out alone. ANY thing at ANY time can and does happen to millions of women everyday.

So I say, if a woman wants or feels the need to carry a gun (and goes through legal steps) then she should not be belittled for doing so. (you are awesome Mary!)

If *you* don't want to have or carry a gun, fine! No one has a gun to your head making you LOL

IMO no one should be put down for something they believe in or is important to them.

Left that crap behind in grade school!

I want a pistol really bad. I would not carry it away from home but I would have it at my home because I will protect myself and what's mine. Until I ever get a pistol, the rifle will have to do.

 

[Danielle_E.]

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.

Ashley, I don't think your blanket statement is very factual. You need to look at crime stats for small towns before saying something like that. Perhaps it's different in the US but I don't think so.

 

[Sonya]

Not answering for Ashley, but I took her statement to mean that maybe in smaller towns, where crime is not as prevelant, people tend to get laxed and become unaware of something/someone who could cause you harm.

 

[andi]

I think this entire topic and the pattern the conversation is following is quite interesting. Most of the heated disagreements have nothing to do with whether or not we should have the right to own a gun, which is the actual reality of the dispute, but how "safe" America is. I think we all need to remember that we all perceive the same reality differently, it is not simply because one person is a woman, or has been a victim, or lived in a violent area before. Those factors are included in the human process of analyzing the reality, how safe America is, but a large amount of research has been done into how each and every person analyzes the world around them, and subconsciously "manipulates" the information they have received. By doing so, peoples actions then affect their reality, in this case, their safety, and can actually change the reality into what they thought they saw.

 

I think to look at this in extremes would help. For example, let's say you have a made up society, a Utopia. There is NO VIOLANCE, it is a safe place. BUT, someone discovers they could benefit from this misperception, maybe they could make a buck selling guns or gain power from leading the people out of a self induced "chaos". So, let's say this person finds someone who died of natural causes, because there is no violence, BUT tells the community that this person was killed by someone. People in turn would be concerned and want to defend themselves. They could much more easily be led to arm themselves. In turn they would definitely become more concerned and paranoid. In a community that never had a need for weapons and never had them is now heavily armed and convinced that someone is out to get them, the fear would increase. The community is most definitely a more dangerous place now because of how these people perceived their reality. They were in a safe violent free place, but by misunderstanding their reality they ruined it and more importantly created proof that it IS violent. The whole idea is that someone can misjudge reality, respond with an inappropriate action, their actions can then create that reality, that new reality then exponentially reinforces the original misconception.

 

I am in no way saying that is all that is happening here in America, but I feel very strongly that it is part of it. Though many people like to insist that their version of reality is the right one, you have to look at how you came to those thoughts with a very critical eye. For example, the fear some women feel, is not just because you are a women, if it was a feeling based on your sex only, it would be shared by all women. But it isn't. If it was about being smaller or slighter than men, then all men who are small and slight would feel it, but again they don't. I don't disagree that your fear is true, but it is YOURS because of your personal view of reality. There are many people who should be in fear, and many people who shouldn’t, but more often than not, it has nothing to do with the condition of your reality and everything to do with how you perceive it. Just look at this entire topic.

 

[Jill]

Robin, I'm right with you. I admire people who take "ownership" of self protection. I don't think everyone SHOULD own a gun, nor have a license to carry, but for those who want it for the right reasons and are comfortable / confident with it -- I say good for them. You really never know when you might need some extra help, and no one that I know who has a gun ever WANTS to have to use it to protect themselves or their families. However, they like knowing they have the ability to do so if need be.

Sonya, that's also what I thought Ashley meant, for whatever my two cents there may be worth.

I was BORN in TX. I guess it's possible there's something in the water there and caused me to grow up and be a gun toter and to hold many of the other feelings that are mine. I truly do not like guns, but I like what they mean to my life

 

[Sonya]

Well I differ from you Jill as I DO like guns....I enjoy target practicing and hunting. Don't shoot as much as I like because the cost of bullets has skyrocketed the last 3 years.

 

[REO]

I guess I've imagined all the crime, death, murder & rapes all over the US in big and large cities and towns.

My, what a big imagination I must have! If I stop perceiving and imagining there is crime, then there won't BE any more crime and I can go live happily with my head in the sand too. I don't live in a squeaky pretty utopia where I can pretend the world at large doesn't exist. Crap happens to ALL people in all places all the time. You never know where or when it might happen. People always think it's the other guy & never them.......until it does happen to them. I choose to live in reality and am AWARE that things can happen. Saying that the way I see things is all in my head.....well, let's just hope a random act of crime never happens to you because you believe that the whole world is so safe and those who believe that it isn't are imagining it.

If you DECIDE not to live in the REALITY that there IS crime, that is your choice.

I guess you missed reading my entire post where I said NOT ALL, but generally.

Even a "slight" man is still a man and does not understand.

 

[Jill]

Well I differ from you Jill as I DO like guns....I enjoy target practicing and hunting. Don't shoot as much as I like because the cost of bullets has skyrocketed the last 3 years.

That reminds me of something Chris Rock used to say. Something like to curb gun violence, make bullets each cost $5,000. Then there wouldn't be any accidental shootings. People would say "%@(! He must have deserved it, He's got $15,000 worth of bullets in his ______." Old, but funny

 

[Jill]

Oh, here we go! The clip is just as PG13 (language) as the rest of this gun oriented thread:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuX-nFmL0II

 

[andi]

"Those areas, those small towns, leave your door unlocked type are actually those greatest in danger. They don’t expect it, its where it will happen."

I think Ashley's statement can probably be taken multiple ways, and is a common point that I think is often meant multiple ways.

One way, is that by not realizing the danger is there, and not locking your door, you are in reality putting yourself in more danger than you were in before. A true statement.



Another way, is the idea that the amount of danger you are now in, by not locking the door in a relatively safe community, or being aware that you are not as safe as you think, puts you in MORE danger than actually being in a more typically dangerous place, like Chicago. Now that statement would need numbers and facts to back it up. For example, how many failed attacks are there in small towns due to locked doors? Those numbers would then have to be compared to the number of successful attacks in "dangerous places". In my opinion, this meaning of the comment shows it to be an exaggeration.



Finally, it could just simply mean, the numbers are not right, small towns are just as dangerous as any large city. Of course, this would just be an untrue statement, but could have been created by the misinformation from media. Often crimes in typically safe areas get more attention and media coverage, because they are unusual. They are sometimes sensationalized to sell papers and get viewers, leading people to believe they happen more often than we think.

 

[andi]

I am sorry you feel so insulted by my post Robin, I thought I made myself very clear that my example was an extreme and that I know that it is not the world we live in. My example can happen on any level, a completely unsafe place all the way to a completely safe place and everything inbetween. If we don't critically analyze the information we are given by the public and also how we ouselves see things, we are at great risk of not seeing what is really in front of us. This last post of yours is a wonderful example.

This is what you said,

"I guess you missed reading my entire post where I said NOT ALL."

That ^ right there is very true, the NOT ALL part. BUT, if you read this post you just made, you say the exact opposite right above that,

"Crap happens to ALL people in all places".

You know that statement is an exageration, it is not true, but part of you feels the need to express it. The reason is, you think I do not understand and appreciate how bad things are, so you OVER correct, to "balance" me view. By doing so, you are creating a falsehood, to try and change how I see things. In this case, you are aware of your manipulation. You know your statement isn't true, but justified making it on the idea that it would bring my understanding closer to the actual truth.

 

[Minimor]

In discussions here on a local board, some people say that our city is not safe; others mock those people, saying the city IS safe, the real problem is that some people simply live in fear, too afraid to live life to the fullest...something along those lines.

I have never been able to figure out why being aware of the possibility of danger, being vigilant about who and what is around me wherever I may be, taking precautions that will keep me safe whatever I am doing or wherever I may be...how is that living in fear? I consider my neighborhood safe, but if an unfamiliar vehicle stops beside me on the road & asks for directions, I am not going to walk up & lean in the window of that vehicle--I can give directions perfectly well from several feet away. That's not fear, that is common sense.

For 10 years I lived in a small town. I left there over 25 years ago. In the years I lived there, and in 24 of those years that I have beeng one from there, I don't remember there ever being a murder. Over a year ago a man was shot and killed. He had gone to a local vendor to buy beer. He took his beer home to his house party. He did not notice that someone followed him home. That someone knocked on his door & demanded admission to the party. When the man refused he was shot. That sort of thing just doesn't happen in that town. It never had before. But obviously it can happen, and it did happen this one time. It simply doesn't pay to assume it won't happen in any given town or neighborhood, just because it never has before. Maybe it never will happen...but it could. Is it paranoid to think that it might happen, and that it might happen to "you"? I don't think so. I think it is realistic. It is realistic to take whatever steps make one feel safe--for some that may mean buying a gun, some may have a guard dog. For some an electronic alarm system is sufficient. Some might have an alarm system, a guard dog and a gun. I do like to try and keep myself safe...Robin is right--believing that there is no crime doesn't make it so. Believing that a crime will never happen to me will not guarantee that it will be so--I prefer to exercise common sense and make sure that i don't put myself in harms way simply by not paying attention in a false sense of security. I would like to carry a gun, though I would still hope that I never have to use it. Likewise, when I am driving, I drive defensively. I hope that I will never have to take evasive action to try and avoid someone else, but if it does become necessary I want to be aware of where I can go to try and avoid disaster.

 

[Sonya]

well if anyone truley believes the numbers that are out there are manipulated or false, I'd love to see them explain that to the 600 women who were raped today in the US....no people should not have to live in fear, and for some having a gun may eleviate that fear. Being aware of your surroundings, locking your door becomes natural and is not living in fear....for me it's like my seatbelt, I just do it....and sometimes depending on where I am going I may grab my pistol too.

Lol on the video Jill.

 

[Jill]

Exactly, Sonya!!!

Really, locking your car and home doors -- where's the downside??? Every reason in the world TO do it. NO good reason not to.

 

[REO]

The actual truth is that I don't care if what you think is different than what I think. I am entitled to mine and you are entiled to yours. You are missing MY point. MY point is that just as you have a right to state yours, others do also. But here you have taken it upon yourself to belittle anyone (and twist and assume about) anything others say. It's ok to say you disagree. But there's no reason to be so hard on people. Let's just all agree to disagree!

I am sorry you feel so insulted by my post Robin, I'm not the least bit insulted! I thought I made myself very clear Not that I saw that my example was an extreme You did not say that in your post. and that I know that it is not the world we live in. My example can happen on any level, a completely unsafe place all the way to a completely safe place and everything inbetween. If we don't critically analyze the information we are given by the public and also how we ouselves see things, we are at great risk of not seeing what is really in front of us. This last post of yours is a wonderful example. So, you're saying I'm stupid and a liar, nice

Real life is more than internet research.

Why can your example be an "extreme example", but you take exception if mine is? Why do you have to rebutt everything everyone says and feel that you must prove everyone who feels, thinks or has experiences differently than you is wrong?

ALL I'm saying is you form your opinions on your internet research (if you believe everything you read) and many people here have lived real life in the real world for twice as long. (age=experience etc) Don't assume others whose opinions differ from your own have not also researched to form their own opinions.

NO ONE IS THE SAME, no one has lived the same life or learned the same life lessons. So why assume, preach to or belittle others who don't see things the same way you do?

Be happy with how you feel and think!

But I hope that people will be mature enough to respect that others should be allowed to be happy with what they think and feel also, without having fingers wagged at them.

I wrote what I FEEL. I did not write to TWIST or as you accuse me of, manipulate things. I'm not trying to change your mind. I'm posting not to YOU, but to ALL here MY feelings and thoughts. Last time I checked, I have that right. If you don't like what I say, ignore me. I can see closed minds that read what they want to read will NEVER see anyone ELSES point of view.

The world does not revolve around you or how you think it should be.

Life is about learning not bulldozing over the top of anyone who dares to open their mouths to dare have a differing opinion.

But I'm wasting my time. Some people insist on calling those with different feelings liars. I do not appreciate that.

Things CAN and DO happen to ANYone at ANY time.

 

[Jill]

Robin, I think you just hit all the nails on the head my friend

I was just reflecting and I think the way I feel about personal protection just parallels and is tied to the way I feel about personal responsibility. Hand in hand. If i can do something for myself, vs. relying on it to be "given" to me, I'll do it for myself. I think I see that same spirit in many of us.