hollow

We don't. Not even close. At least get your facts correct before you make statements like that.

hollow

I'll be picky, too. There should be a period after stupid. If you're going to be the grammar police make sure yours is good.

Don't shoot people. (Had to include this so I wouldn't be off topic).

royalflash

Well no one is perfect. There shouldn't be a comma after picky and having a sentence wholly in brackets is a bit dubious as well .

madpogue 

Those are parentheses, not brackets.

Redhed 

We just won our right to conceal and carry in Missouri. Although I have not applied, I plan to when I can gather the money to get something small. I just sunk about $650 in my first road bike, so it will be a while.

I was riding a couple weeks ago, and I noticed a white van, that used to be a commercial vehicle (the old lettering on the van was barely legible) slowly driving alongside me. I am very aware and tend to go with the gut feeling, and it didn't feel right. He went on, but later I saw him again, further up the road in a parking lot, in the van. I decided at that point, to do my best to lose him, as I didn't want him to know where I lived. So I took off, darting in and out of different streets, checking my back. I didn't see him anymore that day. I am always looking for that van EVERY time that I ride just be to sure. I told my husband about it and he told me to be sure to be careful. (He knows I am not going to stop riding! I am stubborn at times and I do not want to give up my freedoms because of a weirdo.) There have been many times that I thought about getting a small gun, no mace (too much of chance to mace yourself). For now, I continue to be watchful and careful.

I see nothing wrong with being a responsible gun owner. The bad guys will use whatever they can (guns, knives, etc.) to commit crimes. Why should they be the only ones armed? Usually whenever you would be in a situation where you would have to use it, there is not a police officer around. Most criminals would not be committing a crime in front of a police officer anyway. You can't always avoid a situation where a crime could be committed against you. What if your car breaks down in a seedy area? There are many situations that could be unavoidable, too many too list. You have the right to protect yourself, and you also have the right to decide if you want to utilize that right.

DogBoy

The issue of guns is very touchy for me. I have no problem with people having the right to legally carry concealed weapons, especially given the requirements before said permits are issued. I think banning weapons based on how they look is stupid too (AW bans etc.) but I can never see myself carrying or owning a gun. I do not hunt, so there is no need for a rifle etc. That leaves me with the issue of a handgun used for "protection."

To safely keep a handgun in a home with children, the gun needs to be stored unloaded and locked away. If someone enters my home, it is unlikely I will have time to find the key which is also hidden away from my kids, unlock the container, find the ammunition, load the gun and then prepare for the intruder to enter my line of sight such that I can identify them as a stranger that is intending to do harm. I think the situations where all this can occur are so unlikely, that no protection can be offered by a handgun in my home.

Carrying a gun on my bike is even more suspect in my mind. I would need to keep the gun in a holster or in my panniers. If someone comes up to me to attack me, I doubt I would be able to wield the weapon in such a way that it does not become likely that the aggressor could take it away from me, or if the aggressor is using a weapon, that I would already be injured by their gun/knife.

To me, a handgun does not seem to provide much real protection, and as such, I will not own one. I agree with the poster who said that a gun would be useful against aggressive animals, but I don't ride in remote areas.

Oh, and the exact situation described in the initial post happened in Milwaukee. A cyclist shot at a minivan and killed a pregnant teenager after the car harrassed him. There is just no good reason for that at all. So, if you choose to carry a gun, please be responsible and use it only for defense, and know how to use it. Personally, I will try to protect myself by being aware of my surroundings, and trying to avoid dangerous situations.

Be safe out there!

Phiber

Beretta 9mm subcompact. Dockers clutch.

catatonic

I've lived with guns my entire life...I learned to shoot at age 9, with a semiautomatic rifle (mohawk 10c, .22LR). I've seen plenty of it...all I gotta say is until you see what a projectile going htrough an animal does...you have no idea how wrong it is to even think of shooting someone else. the most popular large round, the .45acp, leaves a very large hole on the other side of the victim...if you hit a raccoon, it nearly takes a quarter of him off.

After seeing things like that...it would take one heck of a bad situation to even convince me to shoot someone...I would beat someone unconscious first. See, you eventually heal from getting hit with a baseball bat a few times...but if you get part of your side removed netirely...well that's a whole different story.

You gotta think about things like that when you think of carrying. It's not just about protection...it's aobut what it does to the other person vs. what they were trying to do to you. These days kids get shot up for absolutely stupid things....and that's pretty sad...all due to some jackass that gets a gun and doesn't think very hard about why they should be using it.

I'm not saying anyhting bad about anyone here, but really mankind in general has a problem with deep thought anyways, so why should we even think of carrying a gun?

FOG

Read the statutes. It is not legal to carry a firearm [be careful, firearm is defined very differently from section to section, and has another meaning again under the National Fireamrs Act] loaded in public in Maryland without a permit to carry it concealed. The exceptions are for law enforcement officers [also very narrowly defined] and for sportsmen engaged in very particular activities, such as hunting or target practice. You can't get a concealed carry permit in Maryland without a reasonable fear that you may need to defend your life, which in turn usually requires a specific personal threat against you. Ownership is relatively unrestricted, but there is a waiting period for handguns and assault weapons as defined in the Maryland code [different from the Federal definition of assault weapons and so poorly crafted that the officer at the State Police who has primary responsibility in the state for enforcing the statute could not tell me when I telephoned him if a particular rifle, offered by a major manufacturer, was an assault weapon under the staute or not]. In Maryland, one problem is that the anti gun laws have been drafted by zealots who are very poorly informed with respect to guns, and often have very ambiguous text.

The State and Federal laws also provide that you may transport a lawfully owned firearm, unloaded, in your car. The Federal law requires that the weapon be unloaded and in a locked case or trunk. The Federal law preemepts any more restrictive State laws. The Maryland law only says that the weapon must be unloaded and in a case or covered holster, with no mention of locks. Mayland interprets unloaded as meaning not only is the weapon unloaded,, but so are magazines not in the weapon. The Maryland law requires that you go straight between home and approved activity, such as target practice, and underthe previous Governor, the police were arresting people who stopped for food. I am not sure about necessary refueling or restroom breaks. In neither the Federal nor Maryland laws is there a provision for transporting a firearm on a bicycle.

There are other psots here which indicate that you may carry a firearm in maryland as a constitutional right. No court having jurisdiction over Maryland has made such a decision, and the stautes do not permit it either. If you are in doubt, contact the Maryland state rifle and pistol association www.msrpa.org.

Red Baron

GUNS DON'T KILL PEOPLE - BUT IT SURE HELPS MAKES IT EASIER

.45 Officers Liteweight, clip loaded in order of 2 Hydro shok's, 2 FMJ (penetration), followed by 2 more Hydro's, used to use SOB holster, but worried about spine injury if a crash occured. Switched to holster discreetly mounted on bike. Carry condition 1 (empty chamber). BTW- never leave bike or .45 goes with me. (KY open carry allowed). Mind set is NOT to use as I understand consquences of a civil suit. Carry copy of CC license and Phone Number of Lawyer. Only time used was to put down a 'truck hit' deer to end its misery. Cop was present. Would NEVER use on a dog (or aything else), unless ABSOLUTELY no choice. But if required, extensive training will take over.

BTW- Viet Vet- seen combat, understand what people with guns can do. I'm a peaceful person, just leave me alone.
Let the napalm (flames) flow "Man! that stuff sucks the air out'a their frigging lungs!
"

(POST THOUGHT : Gosh, I'm in a morbid mood this a.m. Sorry - Get that way sometimes - especially when I read this drivil ,i.e. I read comments from folks who have not 'seen the beast'. MAIA - My Apologies In Advance )

froze

I doubt if Kathleen was actually carrying a gun she would have pulled it out and started using it; her post is more rational then that, she would have just venting here as she did but not there.

Do I carry a gun while riding? no, what would be the point? By the time you could get the gun out of a any kind of bag attached either to the bike or your person, you would be dead anyway. In 30+ years of riding a bike I never had wished I was carrying my 40 calibre to prevent another person from venting me...I had a couple of dogs that wanted to vent me that the gun may have been useful, but instead I either out sprinted them or beat them with my frame pump, and in one case a dog chased me for 11 blocks running traffic lights...the 11th block was the last block he ever ran.

And for home defense boys and girls a short barreled shotgun is the best because in the confusion of sleepiness, panic, short time to react and darkness, your aim will not be all that great, your first shot may be all your going to get, if you miss your probably dead; with a shotgun your going to hit the person by just aiming in the general direction. Though be careful if you have children or other people living with you; there has been many cases where someone heard a noise in the middle of the night that woke them up, and during the confussed first 10 seconds or so, grabbed their gun and and shot the first thing they saw moving killing-their spouse or their child!! Talk about a nightmare!

johno

Are you kidding? I've been shooting since age 10, now own a pretty nice little arsenal. Live out in the country, so I got my own shooting range, rather partial to smallbore these days.

But on the bike? For what? I've had motorists do stupid things to me, on my road bike and on the old Honda motorcycle I take out on occasion. By the time you get it out, any justification for using it will be long over. Using a firearm in that situation is pure vengance. It will land you in jail for a very long time, and you can't ride a bicycle in jail.

Need one for where you ride? Find somewhere else to ride. I used to roust out deer poachers on my farm, until things got ugly. Trust me - an armed confrontation can get out of control very quickly. I learned one lesson, fortunately not the hard way - you want to do anything you can to avoid situations like that. I don't chase down deer poachers any more. I get people trained to handle situations like that to do it for me, like the game warden or local law enforcement. It's fun playing cowboy with your shiny new gun, until things get real.

Having said that, my weapon of choice for self defence - Desert Eagle Mk1 in .357. Big, loud, and ugly - intimidation is the best form of non lethal weapon. The sight of that monster alone is enough to make most people think twice.

catatonic

nothing says your screwed like a 12ga pump. Make sure the mechanism is a bit rough, so the slide action is even mkore sharp and raspy. for home defense, that noise is often all it takes to make a burglar piss his pants.

If you ahve ever been in a place where a sheriff had to come in to settle folks down...even over the noise, the sound of that shotgun pumping is all it takes to make the place quiet really fast.

TechJD

Well I own one but dont carry
funny thing is there are a lot of people that do and you would never guess it
only those with child like actions would let you know if they were by showing it off,
those are the ones to worrie about

Red Baron

Well Said Sir! - (even if Worrie should be spelled Worry)

Dchiefransom

"To safely keep a handgun in a home with children, the gun needs to be stored unloaded and locked away. If someone enters my home, it is unlikely I will have time to find the key which is also hidden away from my kids, unlock the container, find the ammunition, load the gun and then prepare for the intruder to enter my line of sight such that I can identify them as a stranger that is intending to do harm. I think the situations where all this can occur are so unlikely, that no protection can be offered by a handgun in my home."

You have too many preconceived negative conditions placed on using a firearm to defend yourself. If you're that worried about your children getting their hands on a loaded firearm, are you actually going to let them drive a car when they're older? Don't let the fear mongers on either side get to you. You can buy gunsafes that use a combination to open that would give you access to a loaded handgun in less than 5 seconds. It might be better to just get some good security screen doors and keep the deadbolts locked. They are pretty hard to get through.



"Oh, and the exact situation described in the initial post happened in Milwaukee. A cyclist shot at a minivan and killed a pregnant teenager after the car harrassed him. There is just no good reason for that at all. So, if you choose to carry a gun, please be responsible and use it only for defense, and know how to use it. Personally, I will try to protect myself by being aware of my surroundings, and trying to avoid dangerous situations."

This situation was already covered, I believe on this forum. At the time the shooting occured, the cyclist, if caught, will probably turn out to be a gang member, and the kids shouldn't be out running around "the hood" at 2:30 in the morning at that age. No, the girl shouldn't have been shot, but we need to look at all the factors when examining an incident.

catatonic

You do know how easy it is to break into those touch combo quicksafes right? When I was in Jr. High I got into screwing around with locks, and trying to defeat them....kinda what happens when your dad takes away your computer because all you do is "screw around on BBSes"....well he bought one of these quickey touch lock safes, the ones you push a certain pattern on the bottom, which is recessed to fit a hand for sake of speed....him and his friend set up at least 5 combos...cracked them all that day...the safe was returned the next day.

Fortunately I knew how to treat firearms, but what if any other kid managed to compromise that safe?

Little did he know that I learned to pick his file cabinet too....man he had a great porn collection

Figuring out combination locks is ridiculously simple. even more so if it's the push button style. You gotta remeber, kids are extremely smart, just they lack the teachings and life experiences to allow them to make better choices at that point in life, so don't jsut write them off as too stupid to learn to crack a lock.

jeff williams

No, thats how you clean house.

Legally.

I work in all kinds of situations, around many folks, nothing personal...if you are ill, you should not be out messin' with folks.

Have a nice day, Jack.

>jef.

kf5nd

I carry a tiny single-action .22 Magnum revolver. It's for viscious dogs and last-ditch self-defense. But I've sworn off of being angry at people. I try to smile and wave no matter what they say or do.

Dahon.Steve

This is silly.. If that's the case, I would spend the rest of my life doing circles in Central Park (New York City). Folks. It's much safer riding in "bad areas" with an old bicycle because the crooks think your broke and too fast to even bother chasing.

I ride and look for "bad areas" because they offer the most history and certainly more interesting then just riding in the burbs with cars going 70MPH! Riding in populations where the majority are black or hispanic is NOT dangerous during the day. About 99% of those folks could care less about you and will not steal your bicycle. I have ridden in every slum in New York City and survived. Furthermore, I have never been robbed and never felt my life was in danger.

This is why I see all those road bikers stuck for the rest of their lives in Central Park because they are AFRAID of going into "those" neighborhoods. They have my condolences.

Ryan

Well not everybody has a POS bike and, ride around looking like a bum.. Leave your $3000 carbon fiber bike in a crap area for awhile see if its still there in about an hour.

FOG

In a city of 8 million people, the other 1% would be 80,000 people, and I have had the unfortunate experience of having met many of the unsavory types, which is why I think NYC is such a great place to be from, far from. By the way, a fair number of the unsavory types had ethnicity other than black.

TechJD

any of ya know which state allows you to carry openely ??

meaning as long as it can be seen you can carry a 357 on your side
and it aint a westeren state

Dahon.Steve

You missed the point. It's more like 99.9999% of the people would not like your bicycle. How much does it cost to ride around in an older bike from the 80's?? I purchased my Univega on Ebay for $75.00 dollars and that cheap bike liberated me from spending the rest of my life riding in the same neighborhoods. Is this what you do every weekend? Seriously. Do you ride in circles or in good neighborhoods week after week afraid to venture in other towns?

I live in the bike crime capital of the world. There are probably more people murdered in New York City than most cities in the world. If there's anyone out there who could justified spending the rest of their lives living in a cave, it would be me! Yet. I refuse to allow fear keep me confined in one small part of the planet. The purchased a GPS a year ago to travel in other towns and cities regardless of neighborhood.

There was a tourer I knew who crossed slums all over the world and survived. If he was walking, the results may have been different.

On a bicycle, robbery by gun point is so rare, that it probably doesn't register in any government statistics. Every month without fail, some poor cyclist is killed by a motor car. If there is fear you should have, it should be with the motor car.

Dahon.Steve

I don't consider my 10 year old Univega to be a POS! In fact, I just spent over $200.00 bucks in new parts and maintenance. I don't ride around looking like a bum either. Guess what. I see the roadies sometimes in bad neighborhoods. Not many but there are some every now and then.

What I don't see are hoards people rushing out to the roadies, knocking them down with baseball bats and stealing their bikes. No folks. Those things don't happen in real life.