Do you trust OTHER people W/ guns?

[BRTCP88]

I would like to return to the way things were in the 1700's. Everyone had a gun and knew how to use it, and taught their children. Unless that happens, I wouldn't feel comfortable with removing the permit system. I know that's an unpopular stance amongst gun owners, but I think it's a good thing that you have to prove that you could shoot what your aiming at in a stressful situation before you can can carry around a weapon.

And, AFAIK, Vermont and Alaska are pretty much like the 1700's. People still live off the land in those states and the majority of people grew up around firearms.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Baarf]

Actually, it was till we had enough lawyers (the evil fertilizer that grows excess laws like weeds, and YES the crap reference is intentional) that people started "regulating" guns.

Someone once said first you kill all the lawyers.............

(dang evil twin again!!!!)

I have nothing but love for lawyers! Honest! (like Will Smith said to the aliens, "nothing but love") but we would have many fewer problems if we had fewer lawyers/politicians/etc claiming top do the "will of the people.(Except for Nancy Pilosi and her friends, who don't even pretend anymore..or that guy in the white house<or is it black house now?> who feels safer now with him in orifice?)

holy crap! a third voice?

[chiefjason]

I think we are so caught up in CC that we forget that a lot of states do not require permits to OC. So you can carry a gun without a permit in most parts of the country. In NC you have to get a purchase permit to buy a handgun, but do not need a permit to OC just for CC. Something to think about.

[Rock and Glock]

I have nothing but love for lawyers! Honest!

So.....Tell us what you really think.........

[arffdog875]

Well... I trust my friends, I believe in the 2nd ammendment, but I don't trust everyone that can own a gun!

[HockeyTrix]

Good question, tough answer.
My initial answer is No, I do not trust people with guns. I also do not trust people without guns. Not paranoid, trust is earned but as with other drivers and people in general you have to believe that most people are good.

I am all for the freedom to own and carry. However, you should have to have a permit to carry. A permit that confirms that you have had firearms training. If the Supreme Court determines that nearly anyone in every state can carry without training, I have a problem. In 19 years of service I have seen plenty of jacka$$e$ that are trained and still should not be able to carry. Now imagine every 18-year old "invincible" punk decides he is going to carry or the guy that cannot drive a half-mile from his home without getting into a road rage incident.

All (most) should have the opportunity to own and carry, but like driving a vehicle, you should be tested and permmited.

[9MMare]

It's pretty amazing how many people think...either in principle or practice...that very few other people are capable of safely/responsibly carrying firearms.

And Treo, I tried to answer your refinement of the original post...at the top of page 5. Did it address the question?

[DaveH]

It's pretty amazing how many people think...either in principle or practice...that very few other people are capable of safely/responsibly carrying firearms.

And think that 2A is contingent -- and/or that Freedom means safe.

[Fred]

To me it's similar to driving automobiles. Most people are reasonable drivers with differing levels of skill. There are however a small percentage of people so unaware, dense and dangerous behind the wheel that perhaps they should be beaten simply for looking at a car.

[HockeyTrix]

It's pretty amazing how many people think...either in principle or practice...that very few other people are capable of safely/responsibly carrying firearms.

And Treo, I tried to answer your refinement of the original post...at the top of page 5. Did it address the question?

9MMARE - Who taught you how to use a gun safely? Did you go to Wal-Mart on your own and purchase your first handgun when you were 18/21 without ever seeing one, holding one, shooting one or having someone teach you respect for it?

How many 16 year olds do you think are capable of driving a vehicle, now? How many would you deem capable to drive if they had never been in a car or had someone teach them how and they did not have to take a test in order to drive next to you and your loved ones?

Yes, I know the difference between a right and a privilege. Having rights is a privilege.

[svgheartland]

Stay light on your feet and upwind of the muzzle

[Majorlk]

I trust them more than I trust some Internet forum members.

[Greg Foster]

Well... I trust my friends, I believe in the 2nd ammendment, but I don't trust everyone that can own a gun!

I feel the same way.

[9MMare]

9MMARE - Who taught you how to use a gun safely? Did you go to Wal-Mart on your own and purchase your first handgun when you were 18/21 without ever seeing one, holding one, shooting one or having someone teach you respect for it?

How many 16 year olds do you think are capable of driving a vehicle, now? How many would you deem capable to drive if they had never been in a car or had someone teach them how and they did not have to take a test in order to drive next to you and your loved ones?

Yes, I know the difference between a right and a privilege. Having rights is a privilege.

I had my permit before I had a gun or training (it only took a week to come). None is required here in WA. However, I chose to go take a class. One 3 hr class. And I was walkin' around with a gun.

I'm an ordinary 49 yr old woman who had hardly ever shot guns before. No huge disaster spurred me to get a gun. Just curiosity and a 'feeling' that it was a good idea now that I live out in a rural area. (I walked around Manhattan, Harlem, & Central Park for yrs...unarmed. Both as a park ranger and as a regular person on the streets...felt quite safe).

That's me...just a regular ol' person. Nobody special. I have continued to shoot once a week since I got my gun, I have intently studied the laws and ethics surrounding gun ownership, and continue to get training (beyond target shooting) with my gun.

What makes me ANY different from millions of other Americans? Not a darn thing. To assume that *most* other people do alot less than that? I dont.

And for the number that dont...and I'm also sure that many dont, just like there are bad drivers and bad parents and bad everythings....I go back to this:

Freedom doesnt mean safe, it means free.

This is the price of freedom....I'll take that risk over more laws.

/lecture

With respect to the car analogy...the car is being actively driven all the time. The gun remains holstered most of the time, even for idiots. Therefore, lower risk.

[gottabkiddin]

Well stated 9mmare!


GBK