I have avoided posting on this for a bit but just simply can't stay out of the fray.
I am a semi-authority on this from being required to carry a weapon 24/7 for a few decades. Opinions vary. I defend everybodies right to keep and bear arms in the U.S.
I have also asked, mostly at very formal funerals with lots of marked cars, if the cops have guns and are well trained why do so many get killed? I know the answer.
A few points of interest:
Publications of gun defense seem to forget to publish accidental shootings. Citizen gun defense success stories are such a small percentage of gun death it seems almost inconsequential when weighed against accidental shootings.
Having a gun can tend to make a reasonable person brave about 30 seconds longer than is advisable. Without the gun he or she would have retreated before the very bad violence started.
Always remember this: Only the bad guy knows when the violence is going to begin. A bad guy with a gun in his hand always wins vs. a guy with a gun under his jacket or in a holster. That is why we loose police by the way. I find it amazing that the police go looking for trouble as its their job. They are called to it. They are always alert and well trained both formally and by experience. Sometimes they still loose. Somehow we think carrying one keeps us safe. I have my doubts except in that very unusual and unlikely situation.
There was a case in Philadelphia where a citizen reported a guy with a gun. When confronted he reached quickly (to get his permit out) He is dead. The police were not wrong, they intended to go home alive that night. Tragic to say the least.
Manhatten New York 1978 3 guys are robbing a bank. The teller looks in the line and sees an off duty police officer in the line doing nothing. (because they already had their guns out and it was only money). The teller says " You are a cop! do something. They killed him with a shotgun immediately. He had 4 kids.
Anyhow, carry your guns, the constitution says you can. I pray it never comes out and I pray if it does it was very justified. Heck, the police get investigated, sued, and verbally attacked every time they shoot. I wonder what the jury will say if you are in a borderline situation.
Always remember: In all states, if you are the one threatened away from your home, you must retreat as much as humanly possible before you use that instrument of death. If not, you will probably be in jail later.
The constitution provides for the right to keep and bear arms. That provision was so the citizens could take up those arms as a well regulated militia and defend the nation or to overthrow the government should it loose its focus and become tyranical.
Am I a gun hater? Nope
Do I support the right to keep and bear arms? Yep
Do guns scare me to death? Absolutely
Do I have a reason to be scared to death? Yes, I have lived it. It is ugly, very ugly.
end of rant/
I do not carry any of my numerous weapons on my bike. I am permitted to do so. I believe the odds of my being a victim without it are less than my odds of having a problem with it.
