Not going to read through the 200+ pages of posts, but figured I'd address this above and join in on the conversation.Originally Posted by n8opot8o .
quick explanation: as a newbie on this forum I was unfamiliar with its format, and therefore only saw the FIRST PAGE of this thread, leading me to think it was a new thread and also to the comment about the only dissenter being from Belgium. However, although I may have misunderstood the way the forum works, I don't believe I misunderstand the issue. As I've said, I have friends that own guns, who use them responsibly (Ive never known my pal Rich, who has a large gunsafe at home full of shotguns, to show up to work with a gun in his truck or to carry a gun when he goes boating). Ive lived in both rural and urban areas, all over this country, but as a cyclist and someone who has toured in this country in others, I see no logical reason to bring a gun, nor do I understand the need to carry a firearm to a movie theater or a college campus (are you serious Joe? you are excited to have the opportunity to legally carry a gun to class? WHY? what are you going to do with it? Are you afraid of your classmates? A lot of coyote attacks on your campus?). I don't bring my saws-all to a dinner party or my chefs knife to work, why would I? There is such a small likelihood of needing these tools under these circumstances. If I was confronted by a bear in the wilderness, the last thing that I would want to do would be pump a couple rounds from a .45 into it, which would mostly just **** the thing off. Best protection from wildlife? make a lot of noise. Very few wild animals are seeking confrontations with humans, if you leave them alone and make your presence known there should be no reason to defend yourself. Worst experience I've had with animals on the trail was mangy street dogs in rural Mexico nipping at my panniers, I just rode away...
When you say "there is such a small likelihood of needing these tools under these circumstances," the main issue you're forgetting is that criminals are carrying unlicensed, potentially fully automatic weapons and do not care about the law whatsoever. If they are breaking the law, they are certainly going to use situations to their advantage. If they know that the best place to open up and take out their anger on the biggest group of people is a place where people won't be able to defend themselves, they'll go to that place. By allowing concealed carry everywhere else BUT places such as a college campus or a movie theater, you are in effect making those places targets. However, make it legal and that criminal can think twice that there may be a fully licensed individual sitting silently in that crowd with plenty of practice at shooting... he may rethink the idea altogether. You shouldn't be worried so much about the people who legally want to carry, who in a lot of states have passed a psychological exam, a shooting test, a background check, a class about how guns can and cannot be used. Those people are going to use guns for self-defense or the defense of others, or to shoot that bear attacking him.
I understand the discomfort about guns, and I think that maybe the restrictions about who receives a concealed carry or a gun at all should be stricter, however, I also understand there are black market guns galore in the US and that's not going to stop anyone who wants them. There are 90 guns for every 100 people in the US, I highly doubt you are going to get rid of most of them, if not at least the illegal ones. I say enable those who would use them properly rather than create rules that don't address a problem, but make it worse. As for the bear....
A 45 is a big bullet. And a bear is not a rhino. With a clip of at least 9 and up to 14, at close range, hopefully you'll be able to (1) hit it in the heart or (2) hit it in the head as it progressively gets closer while charging you.