Murder rate in Florida headed toward ZERO per 100,000!

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by marichiko

And how many folks pack guns around with them when they go down to the grocery store or the office? Not many.

My mother, father, and stepfather for starters. Also most of their friends and associates. But then, I do live in Texas.

Originally Posted by marichiko

Who is the most likely person to have a gun on them and feel no hesitation in using it, outside the police? A criminal.

Maybe, but how has that changed from the way it was before this law?

Originally Posted by marichiko

So, a drug deal goes bad, Joe Gangbanger shoots his dealer and claims he was threatened and walks.

Eh. That's one less drug dealer at least, right?

[Elspode]

Originally Posted by plthijinx

now if the assailant had a gun, crowbar, baseball bat or the like and it was found at the scene then your chances of not getting charged with some form of murder are far less.

I can see the enterprising gun dealers' ads now: "Free with every handgun, your choice of a ballbat or crowbar! Don't be caught without a *complete* self-defense kit!"

[plthijinx]

i used to carry. i let my conceal license expire on my birthday. the only place that i would not carry were places that it was prohibited. why did i get my license in the first place? i was walking my dog down the street from my house and was held up by four individuals from the car they had stolen. three of them held a gun on me. now, would having a gun in that situation of helped? no, not immediately, you can't win an already drawn gun fight. i could have, however, shot the back window out of the car or shot it in the trunk or whatever as to mark it because the cops were called and had someone pulled over that matched the description that i gave over the phone. when i was talking to the cops they mentioned in so many words that "marking" the car would've made it a lot easier to identify the assailants.

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by plthijinx

i could have, however, shot the back window out of the car or shot it in the trunk or whatever as to mark it because the cops were called and had someone pulled over that matched the description that i gave over the phone. when i was talking to the cops they mentioned in so many words that "marking" the car would've made it a lot easier to identify the assailants.

Uh-huh, and if you missed the bullet could have traveled how far and to where?

I'm constantly reading about 9-year-olds being shot by drug dealers. This isn't because drug dealers deliberately target children, it's because they point the gun and shoot without considering where the bullet goes if it misses.

If you want to 'mark' cars buy a paintball gun.

[russotto]

Originally Posted by wolf

However, I believe that repo men in Florida will soon be demanding a performance bonus beyond their usual fee per car.

No loss there. The whole repo industry sucks. If they want to do their jobs like car thieves instead of debt collectors, they ought to be liable to be shot like car thieves instead of like debt collectors.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by richlevy

I'm constantly reading about 9-year-olds being shot by drug dealers. This isn't because drug dealers deliberately target children, it's because they point the gun and shoot without considering where the bullet goes if it misses.

Also because the 9-year-old's parent lets them wander around in the streets where the drug dealers are.

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

My mother, father, and stepfather for starters. Also most of their friends and associates. But then, I do live in Texas.

'Nuff said! Us wuss's in Colorado generally don't, unless you count the rifle prominently displayed in the rack on the rear window of the pick-up truck crowd. Most of them are ranchers on the Western slope, though, and they use their guns to shoot coyotes and Texans!

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Maybe, but how has that changed from the way it was before this law?

Not a bit as far as I know. But now the criminal might have a better chance of evading prosecution. Granted, there's lots of dumb criminals out there, but the smart ones will register a gun to keep handy just in case.

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Eh. That's one less drug dealer at least, right?

Agreed! Should have used a different example. How about Joe Gangbanger having a bad hair day and randomly shooting an innocent bystander just because he can and he was smart enough to go get his little self a permit?

[wolf]

Joe Gangbanger won't qualify for a permit, nor can he make a legal firearm purchase.

Neither of which stop him from being a Menace 2 Society®.

Assuming that the law will allow for random shootings is the kind of ridiculous extrapolation for which anti-gunner rhetoric is known.

"Just needed killin'" is not a valid legal defense, even in Texas.

Oh, and don't be so sure about the number of people carrying guns in Colorado. You might want to refresh yourself on the meaning of "concealed."

Philadelphia-area Cellarites have seen me at a variety of social functions in different settings. Exactly how many of those times have you seen a weapon, other than my razor-sharp wit?

Originally Posted by wolf

Joe Gangbanger won't qualify for a permit, nor can he make a legal firearm purchase.

Neither of which stop him from being a Menace 2 Society®.

Old Joe might be a crafty little devil who managed to acquire a weapon before he got his list of priors, but we are wandering far afield into hypothetical land on that one, I'll admit.

Oh, and I did some checking, and for the most recent year I could find statistics (2001), Colorado issued less than 600 concealed weapons permits. I imagine that with the war on terror, blah, blah, that number has gone up, but, in general, Coloradoans really do seem to prefer the chic "rifle in pick-up window" thing. Its so Cowboy, ya know?

[wolf]

No, you're wandering into the special land occupied by Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, Honest Politicians, and Sincere Reporters.

I suggest an extra 5 mg of Haldol.

Originally Posted by wolf

No, you're wandering into the special land occupied by Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, Honest Politicians, and Sincere Reporters.

WHAT!? There's NO Santa Claus? But, Virginia...!

[xoxoxoBruce]

Its so Cowboy, ya know?

So is not bothering with a permit.

[russotto]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Also because the 9-year-old's parent lets them wander around in the streets where the drug dealers are.

And because the 9-year-old "honor student" (every dead kid is an honor student) was probably involved in the drug trade.

[Happy Monkey]

And because the bullet went through a window and killed a 9-year-old playing in his apartment.

NINE YEAR OLD HONOR STUDENT KILLED IN APARTMENT WHEN DRUG DEAL GOES BAD! Oct 5, 2005 Faux News

Nine year old Timmy Jones seemed like just another unsupervised child in his low income neighborhood. Neighbor Cindy Lou Ferrakim, a welfare mother of 8, described Timmy as a "good kid".

"He wuz alwaz gonna out of hiz way to hep folks round here," she said. "He'd let me slide on the crack money ah owed him till my gubberment check come in at tha end of tha month," she explained.

Timmy's third grade teacher at nearby WeAintPayingforTHEM Elementary School, expressed surprise at the shooting incident which occured yesterday afternoon. "Timmy was the brightest kid in the class! I even helped him fill out his application for a concealed gun permit. He said he needed it when he baby sat for his two younger sisters when his mother had to work the late shift at Burger King."

Police questioned and then released 10 year old Abdul Smith in connection with the Jones shooting. "Abdul claims Timmy pulled his weapon first," explained officer Rodriguez of the 666th precinct. "not much we can do about it."

Officials from Burger King were unavialable for comment.