so you get shot one night...do you decide you need a gun?

Nah... I don't wanna fall into this circle of fear - violence.

 

Owning a gun probably wouldn't help in his situation. Most gun owners don't pack when causually about the town. Only a handful of concealed carry permitted would have one on them out in public. As a gun owner i usually only carry when I am in the bush for protection against bears. As far as making them illegal, there's a 1000 post thread with that debate going on already. I do feel that if made illegal only outlaws and cops will have guns. Sorry that last sentance sound so NRA.

 

you know... I was just thinking about this topic in light of the recent tragic event with the 18 year old girl who was shopping at target in kansas in the afternonn and got abducted and killed. What was especially depressing about this story was that there was literally nothing out of the ordinary about what this girl was doing, it wasn't in some scetchy location at night or anything like that. It makes you think... what could one do to prevent an occurence like this, and I am very against guns, but I couldnt help but thinking that having one would be some sort of protection in such an instance... but then imagine how sad it would be to have every 18 year old girl carrying around a gat - what a world! Oh and to the poster above - pepper spray has actually been found to be 60% more effictive than a gun in a bear attack. (I feel like Dwight from the office saying that)

 

I have a penis... but I've never been in a situation where it has served as any protection

 

Well, from what I read from Ian's statements is he and his friends liked getting stoned and staying that way.
In Martial arts training, your first line of defense is to run away rather than fight, but if you have no place to go,fight and get the first blow in.
As Freein said, a gun wouldn't have helped in this situation. First, stoned, 2 nd untrained in the use of a weapon, 3 rd, doesn't sound like he had the experience to get in someone's face and tell them to "fuck off or I will fuck you up " and be able to back it up.
As Freein does, times I carry a side arm is in the bush when the bears are on the move. Also when I go to Anchorage I carry a concealed weapon and most differently
when I travel to the lower 48.
It boils down to some people are victims and some wont be......

PS: Anybody here faced a brown bear down with a can of pepper spray ?
No ? I'll stick with my 454 Marlin or my 12 gauge mag.
And yes it does sound like Dwight from the office....

 

I found it ridiculous that this actually happens!

or

That people buy a gun to 'protect' their families in case of home invasion.

A gun just doesn't come into the equation over here, no one would ever actually consider getting a gun for anything other than recreation.

Which, even then, no body actually does recreational hunting or gun practice!

 

Majestical :

Well it made sound ridiculous but these things do happen. Don't tell me "not in Australia ". I review Au.com and Sky news.Au daily. Your law enforcement finds bodies
from violent crimes more often than should be in a nation of 20 million.
The last time I was in Australia I went hunting and fishing. Most of the folks I met there keep firearms in there homes and would defend their right to keep them.
Things might have changed, but I dont think so. Then again I havn't been down-under since befor you where born. Which wasn't that long ago.....

 

I would like to get a concealed weapons permit if I can

I'd much rather have something to protect me, just in case
I think I would keep a loaded clip on me with the first shot a blank

if I had kids, however, that shit would be in a safe with a combo-lock


oh and who else can't stand when anti-gun people talk about buying machine guns, and other guns that aren't legal?

 

Im so glad I don't live in America; weapons are illegal here and for as far as I know; you can't even carry a knife on the streets, although people do that, I know that for sure. And; as the story said: yes here you can smoke a spliff on the street and the police won't even really look at you, but I realise owning guns doesn't reallly help that much, ofcourse you still have the same amount of idiots and people who wanna kill will kill and most people with a gun cause no harm, but why should it be made so easy for those people to kill? Let them try a little harder!

 

Thank you! Someone has finally said this! I am tired of the "guns don't kill people, people kill people" statement. Although it is true, that does not mean every joe off the street should have access to guns. I feel guns do not serve any positive value in life, and I am anti-gun. Give me hate all you want, but I will never change my mind about this at all. A gun obviously does not decide to kill a person, but it certainly makes the process of doing so much easier.

 

So ... who gets to decide who has access, and who doesn't?

 

Well let's exclude violent felons and the mentally ill for starters. Everywhere. Come down hard on dealers who break the rules. Get a nationwide standard for background checks and co-ordinate all the agencies. Dot the i's and cross the t's. Devote more rescources and manpower to enforcement. Too bad all the money's going to Iraq instead of essential services at home like these. Fasten your seatbelts, kiddies. It's going to be a wild ride.

 

yeah, we really should stop fucking about and going to war all the time, and focus on improving the country a bit

 

You were hunting and fishing, that's why you met people with guns!

Things might have changed?
Port Arthur Massacre would've been a milestone of sorts.

Don't roll out the age card man, i'm just too tired to bicker at the moment!

 

how times have changed ... in the old days, the "age card" would have worked the other way round. Remember "never trust anyone over 30"? uh, you wouldn't remember of course, you weren't around

 

Cool....good to know. May I call you to come running the next time I have a grizzly that needs a bit of pepper sprayed at it? It's really good to know a brother of such courage.

 

I've never looked down at anyone because of their age, or treated them any differently;
I wouldn't stoop that low to belittle someones voice or opinion because of their age.

 

i absolutely would never ever buy a gun..never..in my neighbourhood u hear gunshots daily..theres too fucking many guns now!
yea go buy a gun cause every1 else has 1 & u need 1 for protection..then your neighbour gets a bigger 1 to protect himself from your gun..nice mentality
then what sell guns to kids to protect them from us? yea we all know how that turns out..& ajny idiot whos willing to take a gun in hand to protect himself from what? the unknown? is got the mentality of a kid hidding under a blanket for protection from the monster in the closet

walk without fear & you have nothing to fear..cary a gun & your admitting to being scared & making yourself a target

 

Guns are so terribly barbaric. Axes, knives, older shit, all serve a purpose and are secondarily used as weapons. A gun is meant to kill, not to protect.