Reply #18: So you are suggesting that it's a good idea to have a gun in a car ... [View All]

[spin]

and leave it there while you go shopping?

One of the reasons I have a concealed weapons permit is so I can carry that firearm with me while I am shopping rather than leave it in a car where it might be stolen by a criminal who would misuse it.

Who really needs a gun in most public places? In Florida, you don't have to have a "need" to carry a firearm in public. You just have to pass all the requirements including a background check and meet a gun safety class requirement and the state will issue you a license. In some states you have to kiss some bureaucrat's ass to convince him that you have a "need" to carry. If you are not one of his friends, are not rich and important and so not have the right skin color, you often do not get the license.

But, of course, you still disagree. You implied in an earlier post that Floridians who carry firearms were somehow deficient. Unfortunately you picked on a state that has had a monthly summary report on concealed weapons for the last twenty three years. You can review this report for yourself at:http://licgweb.doacs.state.fl.us/stats/cw_monthly.html

In short from October 1, 1987 to November 30, 2010, Florida issued 1,885,875 concealed weapons permits and currently 773,016 are valid. Only 168 licenses have been revoked for a crime using a firearms after the license was issued.

As far as why a person might carry in public I will admit that while I have been carrying for many years, I never had a reason to draw my weapon. Also, I doubt that I ever will have to use my weapon and hope that I never do. Still, I have little talent for predicting the future having failed the class on how to use a crystal ball in school.

Here's an interesting little factoid for you to consider:

Nationally, only 1 in 220 people will be the victim of a reported violent crime in a year.
http://www.bookofodds.com/Relationships-Society/Crime-Punishment/Articles/A0317-Behind-the-Numbers-Crime-in-Vernon-CA

While that's not bad odds, would you go to a dentist if 1 out of every 220 patients ended up dead or in the hospital?

My daughter two years ago attracted the attentions of a stalker. She did all the right things by filing a restraining order and reporting each and every violation. He still stalked her with a passion. Fortunately she had here concealed weapons permit and carries. If he would have physically attacked her, she was prepared to shoot him.

Without that license she would have probably been a emotional wreck because everywhere she went, there he was. As it was, she viewed him as a considerable pain in the ass that required her to be fully alert every time she left the house.
Finally he pushed the limit once too often and had to spend five weekends in jail with a warning that the next time he violated the restraining order he might serve a year in prison. He appears to have learned his lesson.

You are totally free to not carry a firearm in public if you choose. I am licensed to carry and I plan to continue to do so despite your somewhat silly argument that I have absolutely no reason to.