At 01:34 PM 6/16/01, Doug wrote:
>Dean Forster wrote:
>
> >
> > The vast majority of people who carry concealed
> > weapons are ex military, ex law enforcement, or people
> > who were raised with firearms and are intimately
> > familiar with their safe use. But don't let that stop
> > you from making sweeping accusations of and insulting
> > an entire subsection of your countrymen.
>
>Because some or even most of them are responsible doesn't mean all of them
>are. Most of the people mentioned above already have permits to carry. You
>propose we allow more people to tote weapons. That would increase the number
>of irresponsible people walking around with guns. Those are the ones I am
>refering to.
In places like NYC and Washington, DC, though, law-abiding citizens are
effectively prohibited from getting concealed carry permits, even if they
fall into one of the categories Dean mentioned.
> > You don't seriously propose that taking away rights
> > from law abiding citizens to own firearms will improve
> > the situation?
> >
>Here we go again. I say I oppose allowing concealed carry and you accuse me
>of wanting to ban ownership of firearms. In every gun thread that has
>appeared on this list, that has always been the firearm proponent's (dare I
>say knee-jerk) reaction to any criticism of their position. But OK, here it
>is again: Prohibition of firearms in this country would never work. It's too
>imbedded in our psyche to get rid of. It's my opinion that we need to
>aggressively pursue whatever measures do hold promise in order to aleviate the
>problem of firearms violence in this country. I think allowing concealed
>carry is a step in the wrong direction. I realize that we can not have an
>ideal world, but that doesn't mean we cant have ideals, does it? In the ideal
>world would we would not feel that we needed deadly force to protect
>ourselves. Passing laws that increase the dependence of citizens upon fire
>arms to protect themselves runs counter to that ideal.
As this is not yet an ideal world, how would you recommend the average
citizen defend him/herself from those who choose not to behave in an ideal
way? Even in the cities, the police are likely to take at least 5 minutes
to respond to a 911 call. In rural areas, it may take half an hour or
more. What do you recommend that a woman being threatened by a rapist in
her home do while waiting for the police to arrive?
-- Ronn! :)
