Originally Posted by kellym
The thing is, the BAD guys will always be able to get the guns, no matter what type of restrictions and laws we put on them. As to concealed weapons permit, it's my right to protect myself, heaven forbid, if one of those bad guys DOES confront me. Why should HE be allowed to have a gun (legal or not) and me not be able to protect myself.
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Yes! That is what it comes down to, criminals will always be able to get their hands on a weapon, the only thing that could come of making firearms illegal would be to take them out of the law-abiding citizens' hands. I myself have a concealed carry permit and do carry my handgun often. I don't do it for fun, because anyone who has ever had to conceal a handgun knows that it is in no way comfortable, or convenient. It's impossible to wear anything stylish and try to hide a gun under it.
I do it because I refuse to allow myself or my children to become statistics. I grew up in a very anti-gun household, we weren't even allowed to play with water guns. So it was quite a culture shock when I started dating and eventually marrying a police officer. When my now-husband and I got serious, he made it a point to teach me proper handgun safety and how to shoot, because firearms are a very big part of his life. Not only does he carry one for work, he owns many and target shoots for fun. I became comfortable with having his guns around and even came to enjoy the sport of target shooting as well, but was still on the fence about actually carrying until one night when I was about 8 months pregnant and someone tried to break in to our house while my husband was at work. That night, faced with becoming a victim, was a big changing point for me, a few months later I took the Concealed Handgun License course and got a permit. My husband's job keeps him away for long hours, so I am alone with my kids a good portion of the time. What if that had happened now, with two babies in the house? What if I get a flat tire on one of the many country roads I take to get home at night? Or God forbid some psycho tries to snatch my baby out of the shopping cart? Carrying a weapon makes me feel
safe. How many crimes could have been
prevented if just one witness had had a weapon? Yes they can be dangerous, in the hands of a criminal or someone who doesn't know how to handle one. In the hands of an good and knowledgeable person, it is a tool of self defense. That's it, just a tool.
"It needs to be harder to get a gun. Stricter controls, time on a firing range to prove competency and courses for the safe handling of firearms before you can get one. Also all firearms should come with those simple locks they were talking about on TV that keep them from being usable unless the owner unlocks them. They are suppose to be very inexpensive locks that would cost the gun companies very little to install but would save countless lives. I wish I remembered more about it now but my memory is pretty rusty, I just remember it would be very inexpensive for them to do it and it would save lives if they would just do it but they wont."
I don't know about other places, but in my state in order to get a carry license they do require you to take a class and pass both a written and a practical test at the range . After that, the DPS (Department of Public Safety, State Troopers) run an
extensive background check before you can get a carry license. The rules are a bit more lax when it comes to purchasing a handgun, the age limit is (I think) 21 plus for someone who does not have a license they run a criminal background check. I think the laws (at least here) are just about as strict as they can be without needlessly infringing on the rights of the law-abiding citizens. Also, I am curious to know what trigger lock you are talking about. I know there are so many different kinds of built-in safeties, and also several external trigger guards that can be used. Everywhere I've been to whenever you buy a handgun they give you a free trigger guard of some kind.
Oh, and Princessashlynn makes a wonderful point. I LOVE that with a concealed handgun license nobody knows you're carrying. I've been with my husband when he's open-carrying and the general public is not prepared to see a person, any person, with a gun on their hip. My husband also made a good point to me when we were talking about "open carry" versus concealed carry... carrying openly, aside from making everyone around you uncomfortable or downright terrified, it also makes you a target. Say you're in the convenience store and a robber comes in, you think he's gonna just glance past you carrying a gun? Probably not. It really is nobody else's business. If people around me discover that I'm carrying, it will be because there is a life or death situation going on.
Gun Rights...
