Getting a Gun for Self Defense (people, love)

[oneasterisk]

Originally Posted by normie

Bringing a loaded gun to a party is asking for trouble, whether you're legally able to own it or not. I can't think of a single good thing that could come from bringing a gun to a party. Period.

I've been to plenty of parties with my pistol and nobody got hurt. There was even alcohol at those parties. I of course didn't have anything to drink, but why should I disarm myself just because people are throwing a few back around me What about restaurants that serve alcohol? In those restaurants, by law I Open Carry and my gun didn't jump out of its holster and shoot anyone.

Also every generation thinks the next is immature. It's all perspective. I'm 29 and I think the EMO kids these days are weird.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by oneasterisk

I've been to plenty of parties with my pistol and nobody got hurt. There was even alcohol at those parties. I of course didn't have anything to drink, but why should I disarm myself just because people are throwing a few back around me What about restaurants that serve alcohol? In those restaurants, by law I Open Carry and my gun didn't jump out of its holster and shoot anyone.

Also every generation thinks the next is immature. It's all perspective. I'm 29 and I think the EMO kids these days are weird.

Apparently the assailant at the party that got out of hand in Lowes Island was 26 and not an EMO kid.

[normie]

Originally Posted by Margery

Normie, you and I are in the same age group (I am 68) and I have a question for you. Do young adults (18+) seem more immature now? When I was 21 I was an RN, self supporting, and evening charge nurse on a med/surg floor at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda. The newspaper stated the "kid" who held the party was a college student and the two persons arrested were ages 20 and 26. I don't advocate bringing back the draft but perhaps compulsory national service of some kind would end this prolonged adolescence and bring on some maturity at legal adulthood.

LOL, interesting question. Not sure I know the answer, but I remember hearing this same question when my daughter was 25--and that was way back in 1985. To celebrate her birthday we went to see "St. Elmo's Fire," a movie about a group of 20-somethings in the DC area. One of the plots involved a young man in his 20's being entrusted with the keys to his employer's home. He promptly throws a wild party that gets out of control and the place gets very badly trashed. So it's nothing new.

I think you're right, though, that adolesence is now prolonged and kids have too much time on their hands. It's hard for me to believe a 26-year-old would want to hang out with teenagers at a party like this. Was he that bored or just had time on his hands and looking for trouble? Geez, by the time I was 26, I had been out on my own for 8 years. (Back then it was normal to leve home after high school and become totally self-sufficient.) I was a mother, I owned a business, I was working another job to save money for college--guess I was too busy to get into trouble.

But... who am I to judge? Maybe our generation grew up too quickly.

[normie]

Just want to add that most of the 20-something kids I know personally seem pretty level-headed. The kids in my neighborhood are hard working, and most of them seem to have their heads on straight and their feet on the ground. I think a lot of that comes from having plenty of adults around in the neighborhood. There are many families here with a stay at home mom (or dad), plenty of people working from home, and a good number of grandparents around. That really seems to make a difference.

Unsupervised parties like that happen, I guess, but from talking with the neighbors I'm learning it's not the norm. (And you can bet it won't be from now on.) Lowes Island has a strong e-mail network, and let me tell you the e-mails have been flying over the last two days. I think most people here think the solution is to be a little more connected. One thing we're starting to realize is that not many people knew this family (at least not the ones in my network). Maybe a neighborhood BBQ is in order. But I don't think anyone thinks the solution is to go out and buy guns.

[yamota]

If the generation that fought WWII is known as the greatest generation, some people like to think that the generation born between 1975 and 1995 is the not so great generation...

[RedKnightt]

Bit of a bump, but I'm curious if anyone has gone on with the process and bought a firearm, got their CHP, etc?

Anyone? Bueller?

[oneasterisk]

I've had a CHP for a number of years and carry regularly. As the saying goes, I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it...

If you have any questions on the process feel free to DM me and I'll answer as best I can. I'm not a professional or a nra instructor, but I'm happy to share my experiences.

[lqda4]

Got my permit about 6 months ago, pretty painless process. You can look up the procedures online. Mine was in the mail about 5 weeks later. Still remember the clerk at the courthouse telling me I was the 30th something person applying for the permit that day!

Keep forgetting to laminate my permit. I wish they use plastic card like in some other states instead of just plain paper...

[oneasterisk]

Yeah you would think for $50 they'd give you something more substantial than what you get huh?

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by RedKnightt

Bit of a bump, but I'm curious if anyone has gone on with the process and bought a firearm, got their CHP, etc?

Anyone? Bueller?

I had guns long before CCW's were common, but I got my VA CCW in 1995, a few weeks after the shall-issue law went into effect. At that time it was around $140. I've been pulled over in VA plenty of times while carrying, was only ever once asked to show my permit. I can't remember ever not being around guns, so I can't imagine what it's like to buy a first one and then go to a class and get a CCW.

I got my first CCW in PA in college after I witnessed a fatal shooting. But I had always been around guns and was a seasoned shooter then. PA doesn't require any training. I thought it was pretty silly that I had to pay and sit through the training in VA when I already had a CCW and a lifetime of shooting experience. I had a long chat with a Commonwealth Atty. about that, but was overruled.

Now that I live in AZ, the classes here are actually more on the legal use of deadly force than anything else. I learned a lot in my class here, though the range qualifying was a joke I could have aced with my eyes shut. Open carry is very common here and I do it all the time, especially on my motorcycle so I can outrage drivers with CA plates when I pass them and they see my right hip. Cops don't bother you at all here for open carry. Just the CA transplants do, always calling 911 and then being told to stop wasting their time.

BTW, AZ's permit is nicer and more official looking than a drivers license, has a hologram and is thicker than a credit card. Love it.