One thing I have learned from this thread is that those who are disinclined to carry, whatever the reason, should NOT carry a firearm. The anti-gun folks are concerned that they will shoot themselves or hurt someone else, or that their own brandishment of a firearm will escalate the situation, or that their firearm will be taken from them by the thug and used against them.

If that is truly how you feel, then it is best that you remained unarmed and let nature take its course. Perhaps a close call or two will change your mind someday, but until that happens, you are more likely to mishandle the firearm and become the subject of a news article that frankly makes it harder on those of us who do carry. We respect your right to remain unarmed and use alternative means of self-defense. We all assume different risks. Your decision not to carry assumes certain risks, and our decision to carry also assumes certain risks. You simply draw a different conclusion from the risk calculus. Although we feel strongly that our personal decision is best for us, we will not ridicule you as irresponsible, as wimps, or use other derogatory terms to denigrate you or your decision. But, we who choose to carry would like the same consideration, i.e. refrain from the "cowboy", "redneck", "macho" and other phallic-compensation comments.

The debate over whether to carry a firearm while on a bike is an interesting one, although academic for those of us who carry consistently. We have a firearm in our car, at home, in the mall, or maybe even at work, so the bike is no different. It just presents its own challenges, i.e. weight, location, ease of access, etc., and that's why you see most of the threads on this.