On Thu, 10 Mar 2005, Doug Kanter wrote:

>
> "Lena B Katz" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>>
>> On Thu, 10 Mar 2005, Doug Kanter wrote:
>>
>>> "Lena B Katz" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>
>>>>>> preventitive medicine, with none of the bad consequences of carrying a
>>>>>> concealed weapon.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> lena
>>>>>
>>>>> What bad consequences? If you have 50 acquaintances, I'll bet 20 carry
>>>>> concealed, legally, and you have no awareness of it.
>>>>
>>>> You're assuming an awful lot. You're assuming that the proportion of
>>>> people you know have guns is similar to the proportion of people I know
>>>> that have guns.
>>>
>>> Neither of us has any idea who's carrying a gun. My number was based
>>> purely
>>> on pistol permit stats for NY, not counting NY City & Long Island, whose
>>> rules are totally different than upstate.
>>
>> Are you assuming an equal distributions of guns? i.e. one gun per
>> household? Or was that actually from the stats you got? (where, btw, did
>> you get the stats?)
>>
>
> Each permit represents one person, not one gun. The number of permits does
> not tell you how many guns exist. The stat came from an interview with our
> county sherrif a couple of years ago. I'm sure you could find the numbers
> online if you wanted. I believe the NY State Police have the info at their
> web site, although I could be wrong. It's public info, though.

k. Reasonably non-biased source detected. (I'm glad your source wasn't
the NRA, which would have reason to distort the facts...).

>>>> Another factor is having the gun be used against you (whether you had
>>>> it
>>>> on your person at the time or not).
>>>
>>> Wow. Maybe this is why many states require that the gun be concealed, and
>>> why cops will get all over your case if you don't conceal effectively.
>>
>> Do you have a concealed weapon permit? If so, do you have it on you at
>> all times, when it is out of the house? (aka no taking it off for
>> work/gym/swimming/etc.).
>
> All NY permits require concealed carry, and that's what I have. I got it
> originally because I do a lot of fishing, alone in remote areas, and ferile
> dogs are a real problem in places like the Adirondacks.

They're a problem even in small towns, where people don't pen them up.
Last I checked, kids were using "whappin' sticks" to fend off the dogs.

>>>> If I don't know that they're carrying a gun, they're probably not doing
>>>> it
>>>> right. People who carry guns should be trained on how to react to
>>>> gunshots (or fireworks, or cars backfiring, which sound similar to the
>>>> amygdala). I know people who hit the floor, and reach for a gun,
>>>> whenever
>>>> they hear gunshots.
>>>
>>> Let me get this straight: If they "doing it right", according to your
>>> definition, they should be drawing the gun any time they hear a loud
>>> noise
>>> which resembles a gunshot??? To me, that sounds totally irresponsible.
>>
>> If you're in a potential combat situation, you should respond accordingly.
>> If you heard something that you identified as a threat, I'd assume that
>> you would react the same way.
>>
>> Not reacting to a gunshot as a threat means that you don't have enough
>> awareness of the situation around you (or possibly that you're asleep
>> enough on your feet to not treat a possibly life-threatening hazard
>> seriously).
>
> Right. What this means is that if you're not sure it's a gunshot or a car
> backfiring, you should unbutton your jacket and be ready. If you're sure
> it's a gunshot, it could have come from a cop. Do you really want to be
> waving a gun at someone who trains more than you do?

If you're lying on the floor with a gun out, you're probably not going to
get shot by anyone... especially if you've got some cover. Yeah, it's
still probably not a good idea to be waving the gun around. But it is a
good idea to take cover.

Lena