OC gun owners (Sacramento, Laguna Niguel, Chico: rental, crimes, houses)

[UB50]

Ha! All of this is reminding me of something I saw on a newscast a few years back...

Some gangbanger had shot a policeman and then escaped into the neighborhood. The police cordoned off several city blocks and weren't allowing residents to go home. There was a TV broadcaster interviewing people on the streets and he started talking to one youngish woman who lived in the neighborhood. He was asking her several off-the-cuff questions when he suddenly asked her if she was prepared with guns in her house, etc. She gave him the most disgusted look and then said "We don't have guns. We have a DOG!!"

I thought that kind of summed up the feeling towards guns that a lot of people have in the LA area.

[junkman18]

Originally Posted by UB50

Ha! All of this is reminding me of something I saw on a newscast a few years back...

Some gangbanger had shot a policeman and then escaped into the neighborhood. The police cordoned off several city blocks and weren't allowing residents to go home. There was a TV broadcaster interviewing people on the streets and he started talking to one youngish woman who lived in the neighborhood. He was asking her several off-the-cuff questions when he suddenly asked her if she was prepared with guns in her house, etc. She gave him the most disgusted look and then said "We don't have guns. We have a DOG!!"

I thought that kind of summed up the feeling towards guns that a lot of people have in the LA area.

So what is she going to do when the bad guy shoots the dog??? The time will come when one has no choice to take care of one's self or be a victim.
I prefer NOT to be a victim..

[UB50]

Originally Posted by jonny_quest

This idea was reinforced when I had 3 friends move to LA or San Diego and all got mugged in their first week or two of being there - almost like it's the unofficial South California welcome. I knew OC would be safer, but I'm surprised the number or registered owners isn't much higher... is it really possible that the OC area is that safe that more people don't carry?

Unless the mugger actually tries to kill you rather than just rob you, your gun is useless. Brandishing a weapon is illegal in CA, so unless you intend to use it, you better not pull it out. If you shoot him and it turns out he has no weapon, he can sue you. If you accidentally kill him, his relatives can sue you. And, if he doesn't try to sue you, a soccermom who happens to witness the whole thing might feel threatened by your actions and sue you too. "Concealed weapon" means exactly that: It needs to stay concealed.

However, if someone is actually shooting at you on the street, you can defend yourself -- but this rarely happens unless you are in a gang or you have a particularly dangerous occupation. I knew someone who had a CCW years ago but he was a news photographer assigned to the crime beat and he occasionally got shot at along with the cops who responded to crime scenes.

I personally think the LA/OC metropolitan area is a lot safer because most people DON'T carry.

[UB50]

Originally Posted by junkman18

So what is she going to do when the bad guy shoots the dog??? The time will come when one has no choice to take care of one's self or be a victim.
I prefer NOT to be a victim..

You'd rather be a target? To me, a guy with a gun and no backup in this town is a target. What better way to get a gun? Knock down the target.

Check out the stats on stolen guns. They don't get those guns from the people who don't have them!

[junkman18]

Originally Posted by UB50

You'd rather be a target? To me, a guy with a gun and no backup in this town is a target. What better way to get a gun? Knock down the target.

Check out the stats on stolen guns. They don't get those guns from the people who don't have them!

I am not to sure what you are saying.

[UB50]

Originally Posted by junkman18

I am not to sure what you are saying.

What I'm trying to say is that I think guns in your home for protection are one thing, carrying a gun around on the street is another.

I think carrying a gun on the street (if you aren't wearing a uniform or don't look like security) would make you more of a target than anything. Bad guys have to get guns from someplace. Since you can't stroll into a Wal-Mart here and buy guns or ammo, it's pretty darn tempting to just try to take a gun from somebody who's got one.

Secondly, you'll be a target for the police too. Most of the people with guns on the street around here are criminals.

Crime is pretty low in most of the LA/OC metro area because the police respond quickly and almost everyone has a cellphone.

[dakicka]

I do not own a gun but went to a shooting range two times back in NJ and really had a blast. are there any places out here that you can rent a gun and shoot at a range for an hour or whatev? thanks...

[Disgusted]

"I think carrying a gun on the street (if you aren't wearing a uniform or don't look like security) would make you more of a target than anything."

Believe me, if you're carrying a weapon you instantly go from target to threat in 1.7 seconds. No one is going to try to steal your weapon because they'll be worrying about whether you'll use yours first.

"Secondly, you'll be a target for the police too. Most of the people with guns on the street around here are criminals"

They way you carry your gun -if you do carry one- makes all the difference. If it's in a proper leather holster or shoulder strap cops will probably think you're law enforcement too or in some other related occupations like PI work or military. Of course, if you carry it in your waistband and you look like a douchebag your chances of heading towards reincarnation quite promptly are much increased. Anklestraps are a toss-up. But then again they're the hardest to spot.

In CA, outside of certain limited occupations, there really is no need for civilians to carry. Police here are well-trained, honest (mostly) and very efficient. It's quite safe. Save yourself the potential accidental shooting or spur of the moment suicidal impulse and stay away from 'em.

Go with the dog.

[Woof]

Police can only respond AFTER you've been shot .... sometimes long after. The cities in California with the highest murder/robbery rates are the ones where only the criminals have guns. After all, they know there's no risk if none of the victims carry.

I have CCWs from two other states. The only large city where I've carried a gun legally was Seattle. Murders or unwarranted shootings by legal gun owners are almost unheard of there even though Washington is a shall-issue state. It was comforting, I didn't have to worry as much about being in the wrong place at the wrong time, especially at night.

I've recently moved back to California (on the opposite end of the state) but probably won't be applying for the CCW here, as it costs too much for me and could be denied after spending some money on the matter. My handgun is legal if kept in my apartment.

At any rate, rifles are better for uses other than self-defense at close quarters, and they're not a problem around here. Lots of ranges up here, but I'm cheap so I simply go way out into the woods.

[A Proud American]

Originally Posted by dakicka

I do not own a gun but went to a shooting range two times back in NJ and really had a blast. are there any places out here that you can rent a gun and shoot at a range for an hour or whatev? thanks...

Try On Target in Laguna Niguel.

Here is the information for CCW: Orange County

PS. What is wrong with the formatting on this forum? None of the vb tags show up correctly in my posted messages but they work fine in preview.