D.C. a little safer (I hope).

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by bluecuracao

It does speak to the issue--whether or not he was armed didn't matter, because he didn't have the opportunity to access anything, not even to reach in his pocket to give up his wallet.

You're not paying attention. I'm saying that being a legally armed citizen changes your behavior. So anecdotes about unarmed folks aren't germane.

Anybody wearing jewelry worth stealing on the street in Philly at 2am without even being at full alert goes in the "knucklehead" file along with your felon friend in DC. You're sure he held a permit, and was packing when this happened? He actually knew how to shoot? Practiced at a range, and so forth? (Training isn't actually required for a PA permit.) I'm suspecting a face-saving tale.

What neighborhood did *that* go down in? Please don't say "West Philly" or "South Street".

[DanaC]

The past tense of "shoot" is "shot", not "shod".

Was that a joke?

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by DanaC

Was that a joke?

Yes. :-)

[footfootfoot]

It's hard to tell at this hour, but yeah.

[DanaC]

Okay. Just checking. For one horrible minute, I considered the possibility that maggie didn't understand the word 'shod', which would have been totally at odds with her usual high level of intelligence.

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by DanaC

Okay. Just checking. For one horrible minute, I considered the possibility that maggie didn't understand the word 'shod', which would have been totally at odds with her usual high level of intelligence.

Shot. Foot. Get it? :-)

http://www.reed.edu/~tuckers/jokes/foot.html

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0411061foot1.html

http://burks.bton.ac.uk/burks/language/shoot.htm

[DanaC]

I do, I do. It's almost 3:30 here:P My mind is not working as fast as it usually does.

[MaggieL]

OK, so to go with that one...

So a guy lands at Logan [the airport in Boston] and gets in a cab and says to the driver, "Just take me somewhere I can get scrod!" And the driver says, "I've been asked that question many times, but I've never heard anyone use the pluperfect participle before!"

[bluecuracao]

Originally Posted by MaggieL

You're not paying attention. I'm saying that being a legally armed citizen changes your behavior. So anecdotes about unarmed folks aren't germane.

Anybody wearing jewelry worth stealing on the street in Philly at 2am without even being at full alert goes in the "knucklehead" file along with your felon friend in DC. You're sure he held a permit, and was packing when this happened? He actually knew how to shoot? Practiced at a range, and so forth? (Training isn't actually required for a PA permit.) I'm suspecting a face-saving tale.

What neighborhood did *that* go down in? Please don't say "West Philly" or "South Street".

Oh, I know what you're saying, and I am taking you at your word that carrying a firearm has changed *your* behavior for the better (as in being more aware of your surroundings). You are obviously missing my point, which is: someone intent on mugging you doesn't know, and may not even care, if you're packing.

So, you want a face-saving tale...hate to disappoint you, but all I can give you are the facts as they were reported. The Philly guy had a CC permit. He was carrying his gun at the time of the theft. We know this because he shot the thief several times (he's dead) after he chased and hit him with his car. It happened in Center City. I'm sure you must have heard about this in the news recently.

I imagine that it was merely intended as a cheap jab, but the person you referred to as "your felon friend" was not a personal friend of mine.

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by bluecuracao

The Philly guy had a CC permit. He was carrying his gun at the time of the theft. We know this because he shot the thief several times (he's dead) after he chased and hit him with his car. It happened in Center City. I'm sure you must have heard about this in the news recently.

So, then he *did* get a chance to use his gun...although his tactics suck. :-) If he had to hit the guy with his car before he could hit him with handgun fire I assume he didn't train much...unless it's because he kept the gun in his car--always a bad move. Clearly another one for the knucklehead file.

I recall a similar case in the news, but it was more like four years ago, and started on South Street in the daytime. Sorry, I thought when you cited "everyone I know who's been mugged" you were referring to people you actually do know.

[Pangloss62]

Shod foot.

That whole exchange was fucked. I don't get the "joke" about "shot" vs. "shod."

I guess what I was saying is that many times a gun is less effective than just kicking the fucker in the nads with your DMs.

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by Pangloss62

I guess what I was saying is that many times a gun is less effective than just kicking the fucker in the nads with your DMs.

Who wants to get that close? And I know one or two nasty counters to a crotch kick.

But if you're not reliably much more effective with your sidearm than with your shoes, definately you shouldn't carry.

Or your car.

[DanaC]

I heard a statistic that suggests that the person most likely to end up shot is the one who brought the gun to the fight .

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by DanaC

I heard a statistic that suggests that the person most likely to end up shot is the one who brought the gun to the fight .

Anti-gun people love statistics. Most of them are either wrong or badly put together.

For example such a number would be easy to phony up if you counted police officers in weapons retention incidents...who obviously did "bring the gun to the fight". (It's sad, but police officers can be the absolute worst at firearms skill and safety. Many of them practice concientiously and observe all the safety rules...and some do not, perhaps because they consider themselves above laws and rules--witness the DEA undercover in the link I posted earlier.)

The famous "more likely to shoot someone in your own household" was created by counting suicides as "someone in your own household".

Gun Facts is a fantastic source of information. For example, appropos of what you "heard somewhere", on page 46 we read:

Originally Posted by Gun Facts

Myth: You are more likely to be injured or killed using a gun for self-defense

Fact: You are far more likely to survive a violent assault if you defend yourself with a gun. In episodes where a robbery victim was injured, the injury/defense rates were:
Resisting with a gun 6%
Did nothing at all 25%
Resisted with a knife 40%
Non-violent resistance 45%

These numbers are from the UK Home Office, of all places...perhaps they were pushing an anti-knife law at the time. :-)

[DanaC]

Anti knife laws? NO! No we wont let you take our knives!