Gov. Brown signs ban on open handgun carrying (Julian: live, pit bulls)

[Woof]

Open carry of a handgun has some utility AWAY from civilization, in BLM or National Forest lands (which is where it was mostly practiced - it was only allowed in "unincorporated" lands in California.) But it's more of a psychological aid even there - one can scare off cougars, Mexicans, or bears who might be starting to circle in a predatory way. But that's quite rare, I've never had it happen to me. One friend had a puppy snatched by a mountain lion in his camp, but his several dogs gave chase and the pup was dropped. Practically speaking, a coupla good dogs are a better survival aid than a handgun.

It'll be interesting to see if the law has any actual effect, since those "unincorporated" places are mostly Federal, and federal law takes precedence over state. National forests recently have allowed open carry almost everywhere, and they take up several million acres in California. I'm surrounded by them.

[New Horizons]

Originally Posted by jaijai

Perhaps i will do that although it will not be "another" but rather, the first of the day.
And i'd rather be a "hippie" than a gun loving idiot.

Ah, first one of the day is the best. Nothing like a wake-n-bake followed by a good cup of coffee.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

[quote=MsIzzy;21253231]

Originally Posted by .highnlite

Leading cause of death among black men 15 to 25, murder
Leading cause of death among white men 15 to 25, dumb accidents "Hey ya'll watch this!"[/quote]


That's hilarious Sounds about right.



I can understand owning a gun for this reason. But this whole notion of walking around town armed to the teeth is bothersome. Yes, I know about the gans and other thugs having weapons, but where do we draw the line?



So you hiked with this thing unloaded. What goood was that doing you again?? I'm trying to figure it out. What if someone came upon you suddenly? Would you be able to load and fire before they did?

Pepper spray is my first line of defense. I also carry a knife. I'd like it to be my option to carry a weapon that doesn't weigh 6+ lbs.

Who would you rob, someone with or without a gun? Try figuring that one out. This summer there was a rash of people breaking into cabins and cars. Do you confront someone trashing your car or sit idle by? I'll take my chances with a confrontation.

The law is stupid. Now I'll be carrying a unloaded carbine that will freak out everyone I run into. So be it.

[rah]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

The law is stupid. Now I'll be carrying a unloaded carbine that will freak out everyone I run into. So be it.

And what happens if by some unlucky chance you run into someone packing a loaded gun, who has it in for you? Gonna hope they get "freaked out" and run away? This is why i see no use in carrying an unloaded gun.

[Woof]

You can't just shoot everyone who looks dangerous, rah. Yes, flashing a gun can be effective enough to keep most thugs away, unless they're really hardcore and high on something. They don't know if it's loaded or not. I've kept people away at nights once or twice in Seattle just by putting my hand on it and wiggling it enough so they could see something was there. I didn't know if they were going to be trouble, but I had no particular desire to meet them.

It IS a misdemeanor in most states to brandish a gun ...... not that you're likely to get ticketed for it unless a cop sees you doing it.

[mdvaden]

Originally Posted by MsIzzy

Why are Americans in general so obsessed with guns?

Geez, are you going to walk around with you hand on the trigger 24/7?

Why don't you ask policemen why they don't get rid of their guns?

Are they obsessed?

Obviously not ... they know guns work against criminals, for protection.

The same benefit of those tools works for other people too. So there's not much of a question here.

Likewise police drive cars. Why ... are they obsessed? No ... just a fast way to get around town and move people.

People who are not police see the same benefits for cars too.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by MsIzzy

Why are Americans in general so obsessed with guns?

Because some see the biggest threat to our freedom is our weapons being taken away. The government is getting more and more control. The ability for the government to declare martial law and take away all rights has increased tremendously since 9/11, thanks to the Patriot Act & other legislation that is rarely mentioned in the mainstream media.

The ability for people to arm themselves is their last resort for the government to be able to come in and completely take over their lives.

BTW, I do not have a gun and never have.

But I am not naive enough to think that our government can't take over, seize people's property and send people off to FEMA camps and/or kill people. No one believes these things can happen....until they do.

It is also true that due to budget cuts, there are fewer and fewer cops due to layoffs and attrition. I notice the difference in my city. The murder rate has spiked and the homeless people camp out across the street from my apartment on a semi-permanent basis. When there were more cops, this never happened. There are simply not enough cops to babysit the homeless.

[bentstrider]

Guess it's time to go back to school, learn a bunch of math, then develop the first Type II phaser.

Armed Perp-"Yo @%% is goin down n!%%a!!"

Me-"Your @%% is molecular mother---"**electric jolt noise..whisp of steam**

"This thing works better than I expected, NO MESS!!"

[.highnlite]

Because some see the biggest threat to our freedom is our weapons being taken away. The government is getting more and more control. The ability for the government to declare martial law and take away all rights has increased tremendously since 9/11, thanks to the Patriot Act & other legislation that is rarely mentioned in the mainstream media.

The ability for people to arm themselves is their last resort for the government to be able to come in and completely take over their lives.

Not accurate, Americans have been obsessed with guns for a very long time, far longer than any current political issues, besides, what chance does any number of hairy chested macho men with guns have against and M1 Abrahms?

This idea that an armed citizenry could take on the US security forces is just plain silly.

The obsession with guns is the same obsession that many have with very large tires on their pickups, or owning pit bulls, it comes from deep insecurity. Probably from thinking that one is somehow less "endowed" than another

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

When it comes to life-threatening emergencies, a delayed response by police is highly unlikely.

It's very naive of you to think that.