Gun free zone

[Floorist]

I carry just in case I need a gun and because it is a right to protect myself. I have owned guns since I was 8. I concealed carry in Kansas City in the 80s, when it was illegal. Because of a contract, I worked in areas that were not safe for a white person and still are not safe. I arrived at a store to pick up carpet one morning and there was police cars all over. The store owner, a man in his 70s was beaten to death by a crackhead because he had no money. The owner thought he would be safer if he kept no cash in the store. I had muggers back off twice, just because I was armed. An elderly black man at a McDonalds was beaten to death for a burger and fries.

 

[C.J.]

I used to conceal carry but I don’t anymore. I live in the boonies and things are pretty quiet here. Besides, NC is an open carry state, I don’t need no stinking permit. I’ve changed my thinking as I’ve gotten older. If I’m going somewhere that I feel I might need to conceal carry, I just rethink if I really need to be going there or doing that. I’m still pro gun but the reality is I just don’t want to live with the thought of having killed someone, even if it’s justified. I’d rather change my approach to the situation and pursue other options than go around thinking I’m going to be the hero if **** happens. Once you fire that bullet, you can’t bring it back.

 

[Mark Brown]

I think you may have just uncovered the crux of my confusion MR. Chris. Not once in my life have I been in a place or situation where I would even dream of needing a firearm to protect myself. This is beginning to make sense to me. I do like that the thought of removing yourself from such situations sounds more logical than protecting yourself from them, you grow wise with your years

 

[C.J.]

I had a discussion maybe 2 years ago with a guy that conceal carried at work. Bro, you work in a warehouse, no need to conceal carry unless you pissed off a coworker. His reply was well maybe stuff could go down at a gas station or who knows where. My reply to that was to find another gas station. Yes, stuff could happen anywhere but I specifically moved to the boonies because of the lower statistical probability of that happening. And if my old lady shoots me, well I prolly deserve it.

 

[Floorist]

I think you may have just uncovered the crux of my confusion MR. Chris. Not once in my life have I been in a place or situation where I would even dream of needing a firearm to protect myself. This is beginning to make sense to me. I do like that the thought of removing yourself from such situations sounds more logical than protecting yourself from them, you grow wise with your years

Well, like I posted, having a gun has kept me from getting mugged or worse, twice. Most places I don't carry. I am just glad that I can when needed. When I lived in KC, my installation contracts took me into some gang areas. There are still places that I must go at times, that no one is safe.

 

[C.J.]

Well, like I posted, having a gun has kept me from getting mugged or worse, twice. Most places I don't carry. I am just glad that I can when needed. When I lived in KC, my installation contracts took me into some gang areas. There are still places that I must go at times, that no one is safe.

There’s a time and a place and I absolutely support your right to do so!

 

[Mark Brown]

You know, I must come across as though I do not believe in someone's right to own, possess or carry a firearm and I can assure you I do. I just like to try and understand it a little better is all. As for the argument that it can protect you from being robbed or the like, I have never been robbed and I can assure you I have put myself into a lot of situations where I was not a wanted participant. Only one time in my life have I ever had a gun pulled on me and frankly I think in that particular circumstance if I was armed as well I would be dead right now seeing as I never saw it coming. That being said, thanks to you all for offering a little more light on the situation for me. I just really find it rather fascinating and I am trying in my limited way to garner a better understanding of the whole thing. Thank you!

Maybe just a little more for clarity sake, I do support an individuals right to do just about anything they choose as long as by that right it does not infringe upon the rights of others. Carry and own as many guns as you like, I would never presume to assume that the guns are the issue at hand. I do have to wonder if the "protectionist" culture is not more to blame, obviously, than the vehicle of protection itself. Anyhow, thanks again. I think I might have said it before and I will say it again, I am a strong Libertarian, or for that matter practically an Anarchist. **** the government whom ever that may be today there is no such thing a government that is for the people, or at least all the people. More like "by some people, for some people and the rest of you can get stuffed."

 

[C.J.]

This is why we were separated in school.

 

[Floorist]

I can tell you where many of the problems started. Use my hometown as an example. For a town of 8,000, we had a state mental hospital with 1,000 patients. The patients roamed around town in the daytime. They had a traveling baseball team. The hospital had an orchard and a huge garden. It raised cattle, hogs and chickens, all with volunteer labor by the patients. The patients had excellent medical care. Then the democrats decided the patients were being unfairly treated. They got the hospitals closed. Suddenly, we had 1,000 homeless mentally ill on the streets. And thousands more in other towns.

 

[Mark Brown]

I feel as though my life will not be complete until we can get together and do karate in the garage!!

 

[Mark Brown]

I can tell you where many of the problems started. Use my hometown as an example. For a town of 8,000, we had a state mental hospital with 1,000 patients. The patients roamed around town in the daytime. They had a traveling baseball team. The hospital had an orchard and a huge garden. It raised cattle, hogs and chickens, all with volunteer labor by the patients. The patients had excellent medical care. Then the democrats decided the patients were being unfairly treated. They got the hospitals closed. Suddenly, we had 1,000 homeless mentally ill on the streets. And thousands more in other towns.

As much as I can completely agree with your synopsis I would have to argue it was simply the democrats. I can argue this point from my own perspective as a Canadian which is to say that successive governments, much the same in as in America basically gutted institutional care. We have the same problems by and large here as you do and it has been over 30 years in the making. That makes it difficult to really blame on a single government. But if I thought I might get away with it I would blame Trudeau

I cannot imagine a world, although I do live in it, where it is easier to get prescribed narcotics than it is to obtain mental health programming and care. Really does not make a whole lick of sense. Other than the obvious solution to a new problem that was created while not at all meeting the challenges of the existing problems.

 

[highup]

I used to conceal carry but I don’t anymore. I live in the boonies and things are pretty quiet here. Besides, NC is an open carry state, I don’t need no stinking permit. I’ve changed my thinking as I’ve gotten older. If I’m going somewhere that I feel I might need to conceal carry, I just rethink if I really need to be going there or doing that. I’m still pro gun but the reality is I just don’t want to live with the thought of having killed someone, even if it’s justified. I’d rather change my approach to the situation and pursue other options than go around thinking I’m going to be the hero if **** happens. Once you fire that bullet, you can’t bring it back.

Once they fire the bullet they can't take it back either. I agree even if someone attacked me with a knife and I shot them I would not feel good.
The anti cop crowd thinks that police enjoy killing people. The people that think like that don't have the ability to engage their brain. My brain has never been all that functional, but for god sakes is it so hard to put yourself in someone else's shoes for a second.
I'm currently in a tit for tat BS session with a young lady that is anti-police. She recently said that she would never call the police for anything because she's had some episode with her family and other issues. She posted a video on Facebook of a guy saying that the police should not be sent out to traffic violations and that they should not carry guns. He said that cops hunt down victims.
I told her what I thought of the video and she simply hates police.
My last response was four videos showing police doing fantastic things.
One with a cop laying on the sidewalk playing games with little girl and another one was when some cops responded to some black teens on a street playing basketball and they had somehow arranged for Shaq O'Neal to come shoot hoops.
I'm in the cops literally came into the neighborhood for a pre-arranged game between them and the kids and out from one of the cars, Shack stands up and joins in the fun.
Another video I posted on her page was a cop that left $100 tip to a waitress who was pregnant.
Cops do all sorts of wonderful things and the media will simply ignore it. The cops may go through entire career without drawing a gun on someone. They can also walk up to a car and have someone shoot them straight through the window at night time in what seems to be a routine traffic stop. In that one instance we've lost a cop. Night time traffic stops have got to be as scary as it can get.

 

[Floorist]

Once they fire the bullet they can't take it back either. I agree even if someone attacked me with a knife and I shot them I would not feel good.
The anti cop crowd thinks that police enjoy killing people. The people that think like that don't have the ability to engage their brain. My brain has never been all that functional, but for god sakes is it so hard to put yourself in someone else's shoes for a second.
I'm currently in a tit for tat BS session with a young lady that is anti-police. She recently said that she would never call the police for anything because she's had some episode with her family and other issues. She posted a video on Facebook of a guy saying that the police should not be sent out to traffic violations and that they should not carry guns. He said that cops hunt down victims.
I told her what I thought of the video and she simply hates police.
My last response was four videos showing police doing fantastic things.
One with a cop laying on the sidewalk playing games with little girl and another one was when some cops responded to some black teens on a street playing basketball and they had somehow arranged for Shaq O'Neal to come shoot hoops.
I'm in the cops literally came into the neighborhood for a pre-arranged game between them and the kids and out from one of the cars, Shack stands up and joins in the fun.
Another video I posted on her page was a cop that left $100 tip to a waitress who was pregnant.
Cops do all sorts of wonderful things and the media will simply ignore it. The cops may go through entire career without drawing a gun on someone. They can also walk up to a car and have someone shoot them straight through the window at night time in what seems to be a routine traffic stop. In that one instance we've lost a cop. Night time traffic stops have got to be as scary as it can get.

I read a story a few days ago where a white officer stopped a young black man for a minor violation. He just gave the guy a warning and then realized there was a young girl In the back seat with no car seat. The black man said he was a single father and had lost his job. The officer took him to a Walmart and bought the girl a carseat out of his own pocket.

 

[highup]

This is Portland Oregon. One of the places in the United States that had riots because of police shootings, specifically George Floyd. Both Seattle Washington and Portland Oregon had episodes of peaceful protests a company by black lives matter violence that disrupted the downtown cities for months. Businesses were looted and windows were broken. Businesses and dumpsters and police cars were set on fire and our wonderful mayor of Portland, Ted wheeler ordered officers to stand down. This happened for months. It got so bad Donald Trump was going to send in the national guard to protect the federal courthouse in our state which of course is in Portland. The radicals were trying to burn that down. Trump did send in protection for that courthouse. Our governor, Kate Brown "ordered Trump" to remove Federal agents from the courthouse.
An agreement was made that if Trump removed the agents protecting the courthouse that Oregon's state police would protect it. So the federales agreed and left the state. The Oregon State Police were now in charge of protecting the federal courthouse.
Our idiotic governor and the mayor of Portland hampered the abilities of our state police, so the Oregon State Police walked off the job because they weren't allowed to do their job.
.
During these times, protesters put quick hardening cement on the doors of a Portland Police precinct and lit it on fire. they were actually intending to burn the police alive that were inside the building. This is a Time where the state and federal police come in with guns-a-blazing. This kind of crap has to stop. Guns-a-blazing would stop it in short order.
Knowing the police mean in business the riots would have stopped. They have 1000 violent protesters...... Send an 8,000 national guard or federal police agents.
The writing because of the verdict of the chauvin trial was inevitable. If he was found guilty on all counts or if he was let free the burnings would continue the violence would continue. Did anyone not see that coming?
the burning and looting is happening in Portland right now. 115 officers since last June have quit the force in Portland. I think they only had a little over 800 police officers to start with. That's a pretty hefty percentage.
They disbanded the gun crimes team because they were arresting too many Latinos and blacks. If you simply look at the percentages of who commits crimes it look quite lopsided they were only arresting minorities. If you actually engage your brain almost all of the crime and shootings were caused by that small minority.
It's made to look racial like cops hate minorities. That's not the case. They're called to crime scenes and it doesn't matter what color someone is at a crime scene.
There won't be a fix until our stupid Democratic governors and mayors find a way to make life better for people in certain areas of their towns. They need federal grants to open trade schools and maybe include increase pay levels for teachers working in those at risk areas ........or something. I recently posted a link on Facebook that showed that 13% of America's population is black and that 53% of crime is committed by blacks. If those numbers are accurate the problem of policing is not racial. They're going after perpetrators of crime. There's zero need to bring race into this discussion.
I'm sorry for the rant, I should have put this in the political section.

 

[Floorist]

George Floyd should not have died. Do you know why the police went after him? The media covered it up. He had just raped an ex and was stealing her car. He had been in prison 5 times and was using illegal drugs when he died. And now he is a martyr for the black community.

 

[C.J.]

That’s ‘New Portland’. I lived in old Portland for over 40 years. Someone stick a fork in it because it’s done!

 

[Mark Brown]

George Floyd should not have died. Do you know why the police went after him? The media covered it up. He had just raped an ex and was stealing her car. He had been in prison 5 times and was using illegal drugs when he died. And now he is a martyr for the black community.

I feel as though that should really come with a verifiable source....

 

[Floorist]

I feel as though that should really come with a verifiable source....

It was mentioned the first day the story came to light and never again.

 

[Mark Brown]

That really isn't a source. All kinds of things get said while a story is breaking and if they turn out to be unverifiable that does not mean that they are "covered up" so much as an error.
Incase everyone is not entirely aware at this point, I am a highly skeptical person, of everything. Hell, I don't really believe anything unless I can verify it. I blame this on the internet and the ever devolving state of partisan news. You should have heard me go off on my Mapei rep the day he told me that MSP was good up to an RH of 99% with only a topical coating system that wasn't even an epoxy, or the day my wife told me that she was having "my" baby.

 

[Dan]

Havasu, normally reserved for military but, THANK YOU for your service!