Lots of responsibility and possible liability goes with that. Look at what carrying a legal pistol cost George Zimmerman.

Do what you think is right but remember there can be unfortunate consequences.

What it DIDN'T cost George Zimmerman was his life.

Don't know how it is here but up north if you show it you have committed a crime. First lesson is do not show/unholster unless you intend to use and that means the critertia is clear... In 35 years, never showed it to anyone...

responsible gun owners and especially those who carry know the rules and just do not "show".

It makes for a good tall tale or urban legend.

And like any statistical group there will be an odd ball.....in the gun owner/carrier statistical group that is a less than one percent unique idiot.

I always prefer to talk about the 95%++ that do things right and not glorify the isolated incident.

btk

My wife has 2 38's and a gun in her purse.
:boom:

When I was in college where intellectuals were interested in research, if someone quoted a source, they had to cite the source so people could actually look it up. Otherwise we'd all sound like my dear mother, who liked to empower her comments by saying, "Everybody knows..."
so, I am sorry janmcn, but your comment without a source has no juice.

The story I remember reading in the Daily Sun is that two men got into an argument and one man followed the other to his car. The man got into his car.....well,.. he sat down with his feet still out the door. And the other man repeatedly slammed the door on the mans legs. That's all I remember.

I am probably the last person you want to validate your concern, but for what it is worth....get used to it. Certain posters simply repeat what they are told...wherever with no credit given for something stated as a fact....drives me crazy,

In this case, the core statement has some truth, while the "everybody knows" part is incredibly ill informed. Most studies find that there is a correlation of sorts, but especially in seniors the causes are believed to be other things. It is a real leap to make the statement as given on here with zero credible back up.

From the Harvard School of Health...

Harvard School of Public Health » Harvard Injury Control Research Center » Suicide

I take more offense intellectually with the "rash" comment concerning The Villages....THAT is a very "rash" comment to make.

You will find that so many just post with no obligation to cite a source of information, thus folks are simply discussing rumors...not facts.

Google 'suicide rates higher in states with more guns' and you will find 19,600,000 links. Here is just one of them, but you can take your pick of sources.


Harvard study finds a gun in the home increases risk of suicide - Science - Boston.com

Any word on the RASH of suicides here in The Villages ?

I also think that Kitty's point was very valid...your post made me do some research beyond GOOGLE......and that is why I gave it some validation, BUT if you read all the report and reports, they also have caveats in them...one being the age thing. Had your post mentioned that it would have been received much different. Also to say "everybody knows" is a bit condescending......the report is pretty new and I doubt very much if "everybody knows" since it is less than a month old (I think)

Just a few of the suicides are a man shot himself in Paradise Park last year. Another man shot himself at the Largo mail boxes. Since the Daily Sun doesn't report suicides, out of respect for the victim's family, the only mention of these self-inflicted deaths is on this forum.

And no, I didn't have time to read all 19,600,000 links on Google, but most posters on this forum are computer savy and can do their own research, if that interested.

About suicides in The Villages: A woman on my street took her own life by shooting herself in the head. I know because I was the one who discovered this situation. I was walking past her house and saw several newspapers in her driveway. No one answered the door but there were dogs in the house that started barking. I asked a neighbor to call community watch and community watch called the police. I walked around the house with the officer as we looked in the windows.

Anyway, eventually we saw her through the back bedroom window and she had shot herself in the head.

When I called the Daily Sun to tell them what had happened, they informed me that they do NOT do stories on suicides. They said it only encourages copycat suicides.

So, if it's true that there are a lot of suicides in The Villages, how would we know if it never gets reported?

I believe she would have killed her self even if she didn't have a gun. The officer said they found pills scattered on her night table.

Your sarcasm aside, thanks for the two suicides you mention. Just a note....I, just me, when someone says to me...."everybody knows" about anything, even sports.....and I don't and I consider myself an "everybody" it sends me off searching. It is usually a signal of someone reading the headline and no detail. And the detail of this report is quite interesting and thanks for at least mentioning it. The age factor is a big deal throughout the report.

I do not think a brand spanking new report dated the beginning of September of 2013 is out to "everybody" quite yet, and I...cannnot speak for anyone else....am very attentive to truth and context and thus always give links when I post information to validate it.

I remember that article. It did not make a lot of sense as reported.

It does sound alcohol fueled.

I find it hard to believe that Vinny thinks the man being hit with the car door on the legs should have drawn a pistol and shot the other guy.:shrug:

Firearms and Suicide in the United States: Is Risk Independent of Underlying Suicidal Behavior?
site of the actual study in a journal
"Our results support the hypothesis that firearms in the home impose suicide risk above and beyond the baseline risk and help explain why, year after year, several thousand more Americans die by suicide in states with higher than average household firearm ownership compared with states with lower than average firearm ownership."

I've lost a couple of friends this way. worth taking note of. thanks, janmcn.