AceBruceGary, you said "A firearm is a tool. It doesn't make me a violent person nor any more prone to crazy actions." You're right in that it doesn't automatically make you a violent person, but you're more likely to be statistically:
According to the National Institute of Justice, males who legally carried were 2.5 times more likely to be arrested for a non-traffic offense (15% versus 6%, Page 8).
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811386.pdf
Don't believe it? Take it up with the Department of Justice research team and tell them their study is flawed and explain to them why.
When I go for a ride, I make a decision on what to carry based on how likely I am to need that item and I'm sure everyone on here does.
Why would I choose to carry a flat repair kit, extra tube, cell phone, and wear a helmet when I ride? Because I've used all of these items to keep myself safe or get home (and these events are statistically more likely than being attacked and needing a gun while riding) Why would I decide to carry a first aid bag in my trunk and a spare tire? Because I'm way more likely to need these items both statistically and in my personal experience. If someone has never had a flat on a bike and they ride regularly but they've needed their firearm while riding a bike (because this thread is about carrying a firearm while riding) more power to them. I make decisions based on reliable information, using critical thought and experience. If someone else has a different process more power to them. That's their right.
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811386.pdf
Why did I bring up seeing people on a regular basis with things stuck in places the items weren't designed to go? Because this is a reality I see while on the JOB, NOT while riding a bike, at the grocery store, commuting. I don't take that reality home with me when I clock out. I've looked at the information I have and said it's not logical to carry tools for this when the odds are astronomical that I'll need them. If I was in law enforcement, I would absolutely carry a firearm at all times because of the nature of what you do and that you are required to intervene if you witness a crime. It makes perfect sense. Your on the job reality is one with more danger than the average person, by far. Carrying a handgun on a bike ride, doesn't for the vast majority of people (those who ride in the outback, great, those who are participating in the Tour De Pakistan, great....btw, that's not a knock, they use armed escorts because an attack is a reality there). Note: I didn't say you CAN'T choose to carry a gun as long as you're doing so legally, practice good judgment that doesn't put other riders or people in danger, you secure it properly so kids aren't killing themselves with it just as I can carry a spare tube on the train to commute. It's my right to do so regardless of whether it makes sense or not.
You said to me "I don't want to be offensive but I think you have missed something in school (or maybe you didn't go to a US school)." Not sure what gave you the impression that I'm not a native born US citizen or maybe it just makes you feel better to resort to cheat shots when you don't have solid information to back up your arguments. I'm not going to get into a pissing match over who's a better American. Sorry, there are other forums out there for that, one's that I don't belong to.
Maybe we took different classes, went to different schools, etc. but all the universities I attended (all very selective tier 1 institutions) for undergrad and graduate school taught us to be critical of our sources, to do our due diligence when researching, and to use critical and rational thought to the best of our ability before making a decision. If the institutions you attended taught other schools of though or processes, great. I'm not going to debate constitutional law with you because people who have devoted their entire lives to the subject can't come to a consensus on this issue for many reasons, one of them being the Constitution was written to be flexible to withstand the tests of time. I have an opinion on the matter, but it's no more valid than yours. Or is this where I question who is more of an American based on something arbitrary? So, if you want to debate conditional law on a cycling forum, go for it, but it would be more ideal if you took your arguments to a forum that focuses on that.
If you believe you understand the Constitution better than anyone you'll find on any amateur message board let alone a cycling forum, then take your arguments to a peer reviewed journal on constitutional law....here's two to get you started.
http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/djclpp/
http://www.law.upenn.edu/journals/conlaw/
Quote:
Originally Posted by
AceBruceGary 
Rights are not enacted. Rights are affirmed by our Constitution and protected by our govt. I see in your signature that you may be in Canada so you might not be aware of how our Constitutional Republic is defined.
I'm not sure why you keep thinking about "scared or prepared". I'm not sure why it matters. Do you wear a seatbelt because you are scared or prepared. Why do you care?d
Before going into law enforcement I worked as an EMT for quite some time and I did see a few cases of the "stuck up the butt". Once was a vibrator which was stuck in the on position but seemed to make a turn in the lower intestine. No one is asking you to carry tools to remove objects from people's butts. Perhaps if you were inserting them in your own butt you might take some precautions and carry those tools around. Your analogy really doesn't make any sense at all.
I don't carry a gun so I can go around "helping" people. I carry a gun for myself.
Plenty of people here have suggested ridiculous situations that they seem to think may happen including yourself.
Shark attack..bike race competitors etc.
Plenty of douchebags carry pocket knives but it doesn't mean that they will stab the next person who steals their parking space. Plenty of people have weapons ready at hand (flashlight, pocketknife, keys, mace) and they don't spontaneously erupt into violence because of them.
Yes you have seen gun accidents. So have I. I have also seen stabbings, vehicular homicide, people being killed by rocks, kids drowned in pools. I'm not sure what your point is.
Is an accidental shooting any worse than a purposeful stabbing? Is a purposeful shooting any different than an accidental vehicular homicide?
A firearm is a tool. It doesn't make me a violent person nor any more prone to crazy actions. No more so than having a 6 pack of beer in your trunk will make you more likely to drive under the influence.
I don't want to be offensive but I think you have missed something in school (or maybe you didn't go to a US school).
Our founding fathers created the Constitution to protect our rights, not give us them. They believed our rights were inherent, not granted to us by any sort of power.
It is a major distinction and what sets us apart from other forms of govt.
