[geeks] FW: [rescue] UPS Recommendation

[Francisco Javier Mesa-Martinez]

On Thu, 17 Jul 2003, Michael Schiller wrote:
>
> This is the issue that the anti gun folks all seem to miss.

But thanks for the patronizing...

 Yes, you
> should have the right to feel safe from gun owners, but the fact of the
> matter is that LEGAL gun owners are not the problem.

Says who, you? Ah, OK. I guess it must be true.... A gun handled by an
idiot whether he is or not legal or a criminal is what is a problem. I
somehow would like to be protected from that. Is that too much to ask?

 The gun owners
> that ARE a problem are the criminals, and criminals, by definition
> don't respect LAW, so how is a LAW going to make you (or anyone) safe
> from them?

A criminal with or without a gun is a problem, so why try to use that as
an excuse. If guns would indeed protect you from criminals, crime would
have already dissapeared long time ago. Crime will happen whether or not
people are armed, rather than arming people I'd rather look at the reasons
why peeople are getting into crime, as in hum... I don't know economics
and other such things.

> So now we know we have armed criminals out there, we know that the
> police don't have a responsibility to protect you, so how do you
> protect yourself?

Move to a different place where a) I do not have to be suspicious of
everyone around me and b) Police actually do their damn job. If you have
to arm yourself to be safe in your own house it seems that somehow
something has been terribly wrong in that neighborhood. I like to actually
address a problem not just look for temporary patching solutions.

 Personally I choose to carry a gun. I'm licensed to
> do so by 2 states, and by reciprocity can also carry in about 18 or so
> more states.

Good for you...

>
> Now lets look at another point. If your 'job' was to go out and stick a
> gun in somebody's face, and take their money, where would you feel
> safer? In a city such as NYC which has very strict gun laws (large
> unarmed population), or say Atlanta, where many folks are legally
> armed? I know where I would :)

I dunno, I would feel safer in the city with worst police performance. If
I get you in a dark alley and I already have a gun pointed at your face,
you as a sensible gun owner you know that the last thing you wanna do is to
test whether or not that gun is loaded. So indeed you will get your money and
your gun taken from you. So in the end you achieve the samething, i.e. you got
robbed.

We can make all the made up scenarios you want. I believe guns are for the
most part a psychological safety resort, whether or not those guns make
you any safer in reality is debatable.

I have plenty of gun handling experience, and maybe most than anyone in
this lists, what I learned however is to have a great respect for guns,
and to at least understand that the last place I want guns at is my
neighborhood.