Life in the Big City?

[VJ AIWAZ]

the problem there is that it is very easy to get illegal guns

and since your not from the US you may not understand our rights to bear arms

[LaNeK779]

the problem there is that it is very easy to get illegal guns

and since your not from the US you may not understand our rights to bear arms

it is very easy to get illegal guns, over here too (and i'm talking about BIG guns). we are just lucky (for the time) that the people who actually carry them are too much occupied with their "own sort of people" and it is fairly unlikely for me to face the wrong end of an ak47 in the street (again, for the time being).

i understand perfectly that US law allows people to carry weapons for protection etc, i just state that the whole idea terrifies me. not judging or anything. i'd hate to get my @rse shot off if my 200year old neighbour wakes up and thinks i am threatening his life or property, when i'm just trying to open my door and get into my own house

[flecom]

i'd hate to get my @rse shot off if my 200year old neighbour wakes up and thinks i am threatening his life or property, when i'm just trying to open my door and get into my own house

that would still be illegal since its not his house

and laws vary greatly by state.. some have a "fall back" law, where basically you have to go and corner yourself before you are allowed to use deadly force, some states (like here in Florida) have a castle doctrine, if you come in my house (or even car) forcibly, I can shoot your ass... done

now, there still has to be some perceived threat, so shooting someone in the back, not going to fly...

if you want statistics: (note that MSNBC is very left, so anti-gun)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34714389/ns/us_news-life/

heres a quick summary

The highest gun homicide rate is in Washington, D.C., which has had the nation’s strictest gun-control laws for years and bans concealed carry: 20.50 deaths per 100,000 population, five times the general rate. The lowest rate, 1.12, is in Utah, which has such a liberal concealed weapons policy that most American adults can get a permit to carry a gun in Utah without even visiting the state.

The decline in gun homicides also comes as U.S. firearm sales are skyrocketing, according to federal background checks that are required for most gun sales. After holding stable at 8.5 to 9 million checks from 1999 to 2005, the FBI reported a surge to 10 million in 2006, 11 million in 2007, nearly 13 million in 2008 and more than 14 million last year, a 55 percent increase in just four years.

[Displaser]

some states (like here in Florida) have a castle doctrine, if you come in my house (or even car) forcibly

Texas is the same. Two years ago, our legislature changed the "castle" law to incude your car as an extension of your home - you can now legally carry in your car (before you had to prove that you were a "traveller" to prevent running afoul of the law). You can also use deadly force to protect your possessions, i.e. shooting the perp running away from your house with a TV, etc.

"A person is justified in using deadly force against another to protect his property to the degree he reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to prevent the other's imminent commission of arson, burglary, robbery, theft during the nighttime or criminal mischief during the nighttime, and he reasonably believes that the property cannot be protected by any other means."

"A person is justified in using deadly force against another to pervent the other who is fleeing after committing burglary, robbery, or theft during the nighttime, from escaping with the property and he reasonable believes that the property cannot be recovered by any other means; or, the use of force other than deadly force to protect or recover the property would expose him or another to a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury. (Nighttime is defined as the period 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise.)"

I hate seeing the crime, but ya gotta love seeing laws like this in Texas! My thoughts are that commission of a crime is a pre-meditated, calculated risk. You get caught, you suffer the consequences... I remember this being referred to as "Instant Rehabilitation" for the criminal.

A few favorite quotes...

"Better to be judged by twelve, than carried by six" - Booker T. Washington

"An armed scoiety is a polite society" - Robert A Heinlein

[Laser Wizardry]

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