[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Then what is your justification for carrying a firearm in that kind of crowd? And if some whack job starts shooting, and hits you before you even realize you need to unholster your weapon - or if you hit them and miss and hit another customer - then what?

That's a lot of "what if's"... What if you see the whack job start to shoot and are able to stop him with one accurate shot, injuring no one else - then what?

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by JMintzer

The fact that Wiki calls it "Murder" is troubling...

Did the jury not convict him of murder? What else should wiki call it?

[JMintzer]

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!

1. The "Wild West" was not that wild. You're speaking of the fictitious dime store novels and the old movie westerns...

2. No problem not being in favor of guns. It's quite easy to ignore this thread if it offends you.

[BillyGrown]

Originally Posted by Rocksnap

I’m liking Florida more and more.
Floridas AG is telling law enforcement that open carry is the law of the land, after the state supreme court decision last week, stemming from a state lower court ruling that the states open carry ban was unconstitutional.
Of course there are common sense restrictions on where you cannot open carry. But this is a step in the right direction.
Side note. It’s been 17,396 days of a loaded firearm in my dwelling. Another successful day of zero discharges. Accidental or otherwise. It’s a win win!
Florida'''s open carry ban overturned: Sheriffs laud decision but caution gun owners to know these restrictions | FOX 35 Orlando

Thankfully we can open carry here, but we just keep loaded pistols in the house. I saw last week where there was a home invasion conviction of an Ocala man hurting an elderly couple here in the villages. If the guy in the wheelchair had a gun, a lot could have been avoided.
Ocala Man Convicted Of Home Invasion In 'The Villages,' Faces Decades In Prison

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by maggie1

Tell that to the parents of all those little kids killed in Uvalde, TX. DPS officers, Sheriff's deputies, and other police officials all listened to those little tykes being slaughtered, and no one did a darn thing until it was too late. Nineteen kids and two adults killed - zero police officers killed or injured, and that's a good thing, but how many of those guys still live with the fact that had they done something, anything, maybe they could have ended the carnage earlier?

Your posture doesn't hold water. They were all armed and yet did nothing. How do you think the average Joe citizen would have done any better in a situation like this? How about the "whack job" in the restaurant, as you've described, do you think an average Joe citizen would have taken him out? It's doubtful. You can't get into the two-hand, off-hand position when you're shaking like a leaf on a tree.

So, because in a certain horrific incident, no one responded, that means no one will ever respond?

Someone responded in the Southerland Springs Church shooting (2107).

Someone responded in the Greenwood Park Mall shooting (2022)

Just to name a few...

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by kcrazorbackfan

Seriously? How would my Glock 48 exposed on my hip scare the restaurant into getting people a table faster?

Doing something stupid is doing something with criminal intent. That’s what we, people that will open carry, want to prevent.

Get real, friend. People who want open carry may or may not realize that having a gun strapped to your hip is passive/aggressive intimidation by implied threat. Folks, especially those with family, will feel anxious. Their pleasant meal definitely less pleasant. Some will eat quicker so they can leave. Some may pack their food to go. If I walked into a place and saw open carry, I would take my family elsewhere.
As far as preventing trouble, you are creating an atmosphere of anxiety and tension that concealed carry does not. More likely to spark an incident than concealed carry. You will be perceived as a threat whether you like it or not, just like the pitbull with the spiked collar as he strains the leash coming toward you.
Of course, that's just my perspective.

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

Uvalde seems like an aberration as far as police responding to an active shooter. Most of the time the police confront the shooter if they can do so without making the situation more dangerous for civilians.

Exactly. Unfortunately, Parkland was also a event where the armed security officer failed to respond.

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by bmcgowan13

I attended the Concealed Carry Class put on by my local Florida PD in 2012.

It was laughable. They reviewed (I'm sorry-read aloud) the Florida Deadly Force laws (FSS 776.012) to us in a PD briefing room. Then you went into the men's Locker Room and you fired one .22 cal bullet into a sand-filled barrel as a demonstration of your "proficiency with a firearm." The instructor, placed his hands over yours as he handed you the weapon--and removed it so you could pull the trigger and then replaced his hand immediately after you fired it to remove the weapon.

It was FAR from any conceivable training in the use of a deadly weapon--a weapon that has no other purpose but to kill a person. But I cleared the training and picked up my Concealed Carry Permit in downtown Orlando a few weeks later. The State of FLorida considered me "qualified" after firing...one round...into a sand filled bucket.

I had 18 years of LEO before I moved to Orlando....

Please...it was a joke and the punchline enabled me to carry a concealed weapon...

That sad and the instructor should have been reported. My training was 8 hours of classroom and 2 hours of range time...

[JMintzer]

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.

Has it happened with those who concealed carry? No? Then why assume it would happen with open carry?

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

Damn you. You took my parking space.

No, it's "you scratched my car!" Then you punch the guy and he dies...

[JMintzer]

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.

There are plenty of "career criminals" who have already been identified, arrested and let go... But that's another argument...

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by kingofbeer

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.

More fantasy...

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by BillyGrown

Thankfully we can open carry here, but we just keep loaded pistols in the house. I saw last week where there was a home invasion conviction of an Ocala man hurting an elderly couple here in the villages. If the guy in the wheelchair had a gun, a lot could have been avoided.
Ocala Man Convicted Of Home Invasion In 'The Villages,' Faces Decades In Prison

IF! iF the guy in the wheelchair was not surprised. IF the guy in the wheelchair had his gun in his hand. IF the guy in the wheelchair he had been facing the invader. IF the guy in the wheelchair's hand wasn't shaking. IF the guy in the wheelchair didn't hesitate. IF the guy in the wheelchair was totally committed to killing another human being. IF the guy in the wheelchair shot first??? OOPS! IF the guy in the wheelchair was ready to answer a lot of questions and possibly go to trial for ... murder?

[BillyGrown]

If the villages couple attacked during the home invasion had a firearm, only the perpetrator would have been a casualty. O’Connor would have been 6 feet under and there would have only been a carpet cleaning bill.

[Pugchief]

Originally Posted by JMintzer

The fact that Wiki calls it "Murder" is troubling...

Not exactly an unbiased source.....