Political Crossfire Forums

bigstick61 · Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 4:38 pm Post subject:

The laws vary from State to State. I was in Vermont for almost a year, and there you can carry open or concealed without a permit, if you are 16 or older( handguns only), and you can pretty much carry anywhere except jails and school buildings (although you can carry on school grounds). New Hampshire was almost as good, the difference being that you had to be 18 to carry, and that you needed a CCW for concealed carry, although not for open carry, and that you could carry both on school grounds AND in school buildings. The rest of their carry laws are pretty much the same. One thing that's notable about Vermont is that all of their gun laws can be placed in one paragraph.

britboy · Joined: 02 Jun 2006 Posts: 3559 Location: London

Sixgun_Symphony wrote: britboy wrote:
Live in the UK for 10 years and tell me then you really miss carrying a loaded weapon around!

I read that one is six times more likely to get mugged in London than in New York City.

I would carry a knife if I could not get a gun.

If you carried a knife you'd be looking at years i prison -- I think it's a 2 year minimum sentence.

lilwolf · Joined: 15 Jun 2006 Posts: 14180 Location: idaho

britboy says:

If you carried a knife you'd be looking at years i prison -- I think it's a 2 year minimum sentence.

So, by what wonderful means do you actually have in the UK for self defense? Are you still going to have to depend upon a cop that is not armed to come to your rescue?

thundertaker · Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 10:29 am Post subject:

lilwolf wrote:
So, by what wonderful means do you actually have in the UK for self defense? Are you still going to have to depend upon a cop that is not armed to come to your rescue?

We do have armed police on hand for when the situation merits it. For the most part, gun crime isn't a problem, so an ordinary bobby armed with a nightstick and CS Spray is usually sufficient. Our murder rate is blissfully low as a result....

RooK · Joined: 16 Jul 2004 Posts: 2006 Location: SE Kentucky

Gun crime is a small portion of the picture. What about a mugging? What form of defense are you 'allowed?'

Onevote · Joined: 18 Sep 2004 Posts: 1688 Location: Tampa, Florida

britboy wrote: Sixgun_Symphony wrote: britboy wrote:
Live in the UK for 10 years and tell me then you really miss carrying a loaded weapon around!

I read that one is six times more likely to get mugged in London than in New York City.

I would carry a knife if I could not get a gun.

If you carried a knife you'd be looking at years i prison -- I think it's a 2 year minimum sentence. I would prefer, as I would imagine most reasonable people would, that you would actually have to commit a crime to go to prison. A true crime requires a victim, or at the least a great potential for there to be a victim. Simply carrying a knife or a gun does not meet that requirement.

You are certainly right in your assessment that what we are taught as both individuals and as a part of society, will certainly lend to our view of things. To a person raised around firearms that aren't considered dangerous unless handled recklessly. To someone raised to fear them, I understand the negative view. Like most things reality is probably somewhere in between. For the sake of a good comparison let's take a good look at how we view, vice, I.E drugs, in the past Cocaine mixed with a beverage, was used to make you "feel" better and could be bought over the counter, even by children. That soon came to an end as the general consensus was that it is not good for you and may even be dangerous. Soon after, through means of propaganda, Marijuana was included, and labeled as very dangerous, " remember reefer madness" ? They actually tried to convince people that you would go insane and become murderous from smoking pot! While all along never batting an eye to the problems connected to tobacco or even alcohol ( the prohibition period being the exception) Today the evil drug is steroids, that ruins lives by the thousands, or so they would have you believe. The truth is, none of these things are good for you, but neither are they the root of evil that they are made out to be. So we can choose to think freely and determine for ourselves what is and what is not acceptable, or we can choose to listen to all the agenda driven hoopla. I prefer the former. I can sleep well at night with the knowledge that not one, of the many guns I own, will hurt anyone, unless I am forced to use one to defend my life.

Are you serious about needing a permit to own a TV? :shock:

airo · Joined: 31 Jul 2004 Posts: 2583 Location: Tampa, Florida

perdidochas wrote: britboy wrote: perdidochas wrote: britboy wrote: I believe (perhaps incorrectly) a prison is public owned.

For this reason, should it not be considered illegal to ban the public from carrying guns into prisons whilst visiting their loved ones?

BUT the other side of the coin is some are likely to end up (illegally) in prisoners hands.

Whats your take? Should the 100% innocent member of the public be allowed to carry a loaded Walter PPK into a prison whilst visiting his nasty brother in law?

I think it's difficult -- if you ban it -- surely you open the door to banning in many other public places?

Guns are already banned in many public places. Courthouses, bars, etc.

So you agree with these bans or think rights are being eroded? Is there anywhere guns are currently banned which you think is a little harsh?

FL law bans guns in the following places:
any place of nuisance as defined in s. 823.05
any police, sheriff, or highway patrol station
any detention facility, prison, or jail; any courthouse
any courtroom*
any polling place
any meeting of the governing body of a county, public school district, municipality, or special district
any meeting of the Legislature or a committee thereof
any school, college, or professional athletic event not related to firearms
any school administration building
any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption*
any elementary or secondary school facility
any area technical center
any college or university facility*
inside the passenger terminal and sterile area of any airport*
any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law

Those all seem reasonable to me.

Wait, they're reasonable to you?

Not being able to carry on school grounds or at college is reasonable?

So, a teacher can be certified to teach, and to carry a gun, but not at the same time?

Not in a polling place?

I'm border-line on bars. A responcible CCWer wouldn't carry while drinking. Period.

But most of those (Save for places that insure all outsiders are firearm free, such as airports and courthouses.) only apply to people who actually care what the law says, and only really give people a false sense of security. Klebold and Harris didn't care that their school was a "Gun Free" zone, but their teachers did. The result? Well, i don't think we need to be reminded. In short, they were armed, while no one else was.

If officers aren't allowed to carry inside prisons, i don't think the public should either. (Prison guards are, by and large, unarmed, save for those on "fence duty".)