I am going to use this thread to pose a question I have been asking myself, my co-workers, and my friends. Lately it seems that the news has been riddled with fatal incidents that have occurred in public settings such as schools, malls, restaurants, gas stations, etc.

So my question is: Do you want to/Would you/Do you already carry a gun in your car or on your person?

Whether you follow the news or not, you must know some about some of these incidents and it seems like it is getting out of hand. I used to believe that these incidents are becoming more frequent because the news is reporting it more often. That is just ridiculous now. I hate oversimplification (whew that was a big one) or to think that I am getting scared, but it is getting to the point that I think about it when I go out to eat or pump gas, etc.

 

it is legal to carry a concealed weapon in anchorage, and damn it i do cuz the drunk homeless people worry me. in recent history there has been:
-a drive by at a family football game in a park
-a drunk shoot out next to a school
-a shootout at the entrance to best buy in broad daylight
-one guy pulled a gun at one of the clubs down town 2 weekends in a row
-some dumb asses shooting at cars from their suv
-some guy walked around wit a machete and hacked at people for 2 days killing something like 4 people
-and all the shootings in the ghetto areas

so i never leave home with out my s&w air weight .32

 

Would I carry concealed if I could?.......you betcha'. BUT, I've been raised around firearms and the respect-regard, personal responsibility aspect has been a part of life.Seems like people today have a very false and fear-laden attitude about firearms, gee I wonder why? While it's documented with fact and figures we'll never hear how Doctor's mistakes and 5 gal. buckets with a couple inches of water in them, have killed more children than all firearms accidents combined.But the hundreds if not thousands of cases where just the SITE of a pulled ''good gun'' HAS SAVED LIVES and injury, that news is buried deep in the media scrap-heap.It's also proven over the years that only a small percent of qualified people carry weapons.Common sense tells me when a monster can line innocents up and shoot them down and then stand there while he reloads , ONE GOOD GUN would have saved many lives,many times. As far as good gun, good baseball bat,good anything......the controller makes it what it is, not the object.......sorry to rant so long.

 

I work down town and Im parallel from Orange Blossom Trail.
At least weekly theres a shooting. Recently, the last 2 were 1 street over from my job.

*shrugs*

 

I want to, yes.

I would, yes.

No, do not currently own one, as I have to untrained people in my home that I don't want fooling around with them.

Personally, I think that learning to properly handle and operate a firearm is an essential life skill. Just like learning to swim, ride a bike, etc. When my wife (negative gun attitude) and I discussed the topic and how it related to our children, my position was pretty simple:

Say one night, I am out of town and the little one gets up to go to the bathroom. He/she gets out into the hall and hears odd noises in the living room. When they go to see what's up, they find a guy has my wife pinned down and is raping/beating her. Within hands reach is the guy's gun, abandoned while he does his thing. I want my little one to be able to walk over, pick that weapon up, and put a few holes in the bastard. Then call 911.

The wife had no argument for this.

 

i've seen a lot of stupid, senseless things happen in my area:

-a skinhead took a bunch of hostages in the grocery store i used to work at
-the manager of the burger king in front of the grocery store was strangled in the backroom
-a janitor at the church down the road was stabbed to death in the chapel
-a 90 year old lady was stabbed to death in her home by a guy that had been living in the forest preserve nearby
-armed robberies at the nearby mall

and there are plenty more i know i'm forgetting. and this is all in a nice little suburb that everyone is moving to for it's proximity to the big cities and safety and whatnot.

and even with all these things happening not even a mile from my house, not once have i EVER said to myself "i really want a gun to protect myself". i hate the fact that crazy a**holes are out there with guns killing random people, but i personally don't want to stoop to that level. i could definitely see that type of thinking leading to more problems than there already are.

and i apologise for the long rant, done

 

A kid in my area got snuffed by someone as a gang initiation and three women were raped at the campus of alma mater recently and last year I was almost kidnapped/raped/robbed as I was leaving Walmart so yeah, I would like to carry a weapon that can easily disable a ****ing scumbag that tries to harm me. Something that's easy to use like a gun but without the whole killing thing. In California, I can go to jail for killing someone even if it's for self defense

 

yeah I would carry one but they def worry me. Not sure if I would be able to shoot someone?

 

Not in my town. Here's what happened recently:

On Jan. 29, three days after the man's release from state prison, Jessie, Cecil and several other men were playing cards at Cecil's home. After the card game, Jessie stood up, put on Cecil's leather jacket and began to walk out of the house. As Cecil tried to stop him, Jessie drew a semi-automatic pistol and challenged his brother to take the coat back from him, Cecil would later tell police.
Cecil then followed his brother in his car to the Goodwill Village Apartments in North Memphis but eventually lost him. Although Cecil reported to police that his brother robbed and threatened him, Jessie was not charged with a crime.
Whether the stolen jacket remained an issue between Cecil and Jessie is unknown. But last Sunday, Jessie returned to Cecil's home at 722 Lester, police say.
An argument followed.
It ended in a bloodbath.
Jessie Dotson, 33, was charged Saturday with six counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder. Dist. Atty. Gen. Bill Gibbons said he would announce in the coming days whether his office will seek the death penalty.
During an argument with his brother at 722 Lester, Jessie Dotson pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and shot Cecil Dewayne Dotson, police allege. He then slaughtered the others in the house, including children, in an attempt to cover up the shooting.
Cecil Dotson, 30; Marissa Rene Williams, 27; Hollis Seals, 33; and Shindri Roberson, 22, were shot and killed.
Jessie Dotson also stabbed and killed two of his nephews, Cemario Dotson, 4, and Cecil Dotson II, 2, both sons of Cecil, police say.
"It is our belief that when Jessie left the home, he believed everyone in the home was dead," Police Director Larry Godwin said during a Saturday press conference. "But as we all know, by the grace of God, three children survived."
Cecil Dotson Jr., about 9; Cedric Dotson, about 6; and Ceniyah Dotson, about 2 months old, survived being attacked with a knife and are in treatment under protective custody at Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center.
One of the surviving children told police Jessie Dotson was responsible for the killings, according to an affidavit filed Saturday. Dotson then confessed to the mass murder.
For Dotson, the gruesome killings on Lester Street made for an end to what was at times a hostile relationship with his family, arrest records show. His teenage home at 600 S. Lauderdale was a volatile place, where he regularly fought with neighbors and siblings.

Memphis = dangerous