[MrFlorida]

Originally Posted by Cdj1040

This is political and not appropriate to post here. Many here are NOT in favor of guns and open carry. This is not the wild West!

Maybe you moved to the wrong state.

[MrFlorida]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

That seems pretty scary. Are there armed criminals in the room with you now?

I've been living in The Villages for 7 years, and haven't ever met anyone who has tried to do me harm, with or without a firearm.

I am confident, without any actual data to provide, that most people treated for mental disorders (aka "going off the deep end") are not armed criminals. So that would make them "law abiding citizens" who do not go off the deep end. And that would also mean that the armed criminals who want to do me harm, are in the minority even among people with mental disorders.

MOST people - with or without mental disorders - are not armed criminals who want to do me harm. Seven years living in Boston, over 30 years living in Connecticut, seven years currently living in The Villages, one year living elsewhere in Florida in my 20's...and the only attacks I've ever been victim of was a girl punching me once on the bus in elementary school because she heard I didn't like her, and then in high school when another girl pushed me up against the gym locker room wall because she heard I liked her boyfriend (who didn't know I even existed).

Addendum: after the girl on the bus got suspended, she approached me and thanked me for 3 days off from school and that any time I wanted someone beat up, to let her know, she owed me one. We were on friendly terms with each other from then on.

I guess you didn't hear about the attempted car jacking on Colony a few weeks ago ?

[Lottoguy]

I'm hoping those with open carry DO NOT lose their cool from some minor incident. Of course after saying this it will happen.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Lottoguy

I'm hoping those with open carry DO NOT lose their cool from some minor incident. Of course after saying this it will happen.

Damn you. You took my parking space.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by MrFlorida

True, but there are more armed criminals out there that want to do you harm than law abiding citizens going off the deep end...

I wonder if that is true. A criminal is a former law abiding citizen who made a bad choice. How many of the recent shootings that hit the headlines were carried out by someone who was a law abiding citizen the day before the shooting? How many were in legal possession of the weapons they used right up until they began their attack?

It's easy to say that criminals should not have guns, though your Colony example shows it is difficult to put into practice. It's not so easy to pick tomorrow's criminal out of today's law abiding citizen. We can (try to) close the barn door after the horses have gotten out but we're not really good at that, it doesn't solve the problem, and it does nothing for the victims.

[kingofbeer]

Originally Posted by Lottoguy

I'm hoping those with open carry DO NOT lose their cool from some minor incident. Of course after saying this it will happen.

If they make a mistake, they will either shoot themselves or shoot someone else in error and will get charge with reckless endangerment or worse. Let's say some old guy pulls out his gun to stop someone from robbing the CVS. The old guy starts shooting and kills a bystander. He will get charged for the offense and will get sued by the bystanders family.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

I wonder if that is true. A criminal is a former law abiding citizen who made a bad choice. How many of the recent shootings that hit the headlines were carried out by someone who was a law abiding citizen the day before the shooting? How many were in legal possession of the weapons they used right up until they began their attack?

It's easy to say that criminals should not have guns, though your Colony example shows it is difficult to put into practice. It's not so easy to pick tomorrow's criminal out of today's law abiding citizen. We can (try to) close the barn door after the horses have gotten out but we're not really good at that, it doesn't solve the problem, and it does nothing for the victims.

This is why making certain activities, behaviors, or choices illegal, is important. If there are no consequences to your choices, then you basically have permission to make them.

Yes, only criminals commit crimes. But if the crime isn't illegal, then the criminal is not a criminal when they commit it. It's not a crime. No consequence, no crime.

If you have to be registered and licensed, and take a test to carry a firearm in public, and there's no consequence for NOT being registered and licensed and tested, then - you really don't have to be.

But if NOT being registered, licensed, and tested comes with a jail sentence if you're caught, you're more likely to comply and get registered, licensed, and tested. A usually law-abiding citizen will do that. And even some criminals will do that, so that their sentence is lower if they get caught committing crimes with their firearms. "Yes, I shot out the window. But I am licensed to have this weapon so you can't get me on a weapons charge, only on a "you broke a window" charge."

Or whatever. You get the idea, it's a bad example but I'm not in the habit of asking criminals about their choices.

[rpalumberi]

Guns don't kill people, people kill people using a variety of things - are you ready to make knives illegal? Only the crazies. People who kill people are either hardened criminals or mentally disturbed. Anyone who uses a gun in the commission of a crime should get an automatic 10 year sentence - no judge necessary. Keep accepting those with mental issues as normal - transgender, furies & so many more, this will continue to happen. Free speech right, that's my common sense opinion - no politics.

[MrFlorida]

Originally Posted by Lottoguy

I'm hoping those with open carry DO NOT lose their cool from some minor incident. Of course after saying this it will happen.

Concealed carry has been around for a long time, what's the difference?

[kingofbeer]

Originally Posted by rpalumberi

Guns don't kill people, people kill people using a variety of things - are you ready to make knives illegal? Only the crazies. People who kill people are either hardened criminals or mentally disturbed. Anyone who uses a gun in the commission of a crime should get an automatic 10 year sentence - no judge necessary. Keep accepting those with mental issues as normal - transgender, furies & so many more, this will continue to happen. Free speech right, that's my common sense opinion - no politics.

No judge necessary? Give us a break!

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by rpalumberi

Guns don't kill people, people kill people using a variety of things - are you ready to make knives illegal? Only the crazies. People who kill people are either hardened criminals or mentally disturbed. Anyone who uses a gun in the commission of a crime should get an automatic 10 year sentence - no judge necessary. Keep accepting those with mental issues as normal - transgender, furies & so many more, this will continue to happen. Free speech right, that's my common sense opinion - no politics.

ignorance and bigotry for the win, eh? You might look into the statistics on who commits the crimes - the transgender, furies (sic) & so on fall far behind "real" men.

Which of the recent shooting victims would not have had a better chance against a knife? I like my odds against someone standing three feet away with a knife but I have no chance at all against someone hiding 50 yards away with a rifle. You can't stop someone from attempting to commit a crime but you can make it more difficult to be successful.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by rpalumberi

Guns don't kill people, people kill people using a variety of things - are you ready to make knives illegal? Only the crazies. People who kill people are either hardened criminals or mentally disturbed. Anyone who uses a gun in the commission of a crime should get an automatic 10 year sentence - no judge necessary. Keep accepting those with mental issues as normal - transgender, furies & so many more, this will continue to happen. Free speech right, that's my common sense opinion - no politics.

Kyle Rittenhouse was either a hardened criminal or mentally disturbed. Cool.

[VAtoFLA]

Originally Posted by rpalumberi

Guns don't kill people, people kill people using a variety of things - are you ready to make knives illegal? Only the crazies. People who kill people are either hardened criminals or mentally disturbed. Anyone who uses a gun in the commission of a crime should get an automatic 10 year sentence - no judge necessary. Keep accepting those with mental issues as normal - transgender, furies & so many more, this will continue to happen. Free speech right, that's my common sense opinion - no politics.

That's really silly. Someone brought up Uvalde a few posts ago. Does anyone in this thread, anyone in the world, think for one second that if the killer was in that room with a knife that the armed officers wouldn't have stormed in and just stopped it?

You devalue your argument about it being a people problem when you go to such a ridiculous extreme.

[Pugchief]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

A criminal is a former law abiding citizen who made a bad choice.

Ah yes, a bad choice.
Because reasons.

[Pugchief]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

This is why making certain activities, behaviors, or choices illegal, is important.

And then actually arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating. Otherwise "illegal" is moot.

If there are no consequences to your choices, then you basically have permission to make them.

Exactly.

Yes, only criminals commit crimes. But if the crime isn't illegal, then the criminal is not a criminal when they commit it. It's not a crime. No consequence, no crime.

Wordsalad. If the crime isn't illegal, it's not a crime.