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comment by haywire
haywire  ·  4459 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Md. Gun Law Found Unconstitutional
Your arguments, although interesting, are a bit superficial. I hold both a resident and non-resident CCW. My reasoning is simply because I can. Now, I know how that must sound. But consider the indiscriminate way that criminals act. Try to post "reason" to their actions. Their reasoning is as faulty as the crime itself.

Years ago, a doctor friend of my father's was at a drive up ATM in the Cape Coral area of Florida. While being held at gun point for what was, at the time, a $200 max withdrawal, the assailant decided not to leave a witness, and killed the doctor. Meaningless crime, and loss of life.

I hope the need for my weapon to ever leave it's holster never arises. I wouldn't want to make the decision, or distinctions, that would end anyone's life; myself included. I can't honestly say that if surprised by a would be thief that was after my wallet that I would risk my life or those with me for a replaceable, tangible thing. The event I am on guard against is the one that separates my life, or my family's life, from me.

If, as you state, misplaced bravado is a faulty reason used to possess a CCW, then I would agree that that individual is not a good candidate. I am probably a bit older than most who post on this site, so I have a benefit of years, and a even tempered disposition to help balance the distasteful possibility of ending a life.





mk  ·  4459 days ago  ·  link  ·  
Regarding the scenario that you mentioned in support of your position: The problem IMO is it is very difficult to know if a thief is going to shoot or not. If the thief does, you are most likely already out of luck. If you do pull the gun, you've escalated, and the thief will likely shoot in response. So, you might have turned a non-lethal situation into one. As a result, IMO, you either have to decide beforehand either: 1) that you will allow yourself to be robbed in most every event, and only pull the gun when you are certain that you (or a loved one) is going to be killed, or 2) consider that anyone that pulls a gun on you forfeited their life, and look for the first opportunity to kill them.

The problem with 1, is that there is only a very slim chance that you'll have certainty, and then be able to use your gun to effect. The problem with 2 is that you risk escalating non-lethal situations into one, and as it stands, most armed robbery doesn't result in murder.

When you consider the slight possibly benefit of carrying, and weigh it against the possible accidents and scenarios gone wrong, I just don't think it is worth the risks.

That said, I do support your right to carry, and I just hope that are very conservative about your carrying and use.

Also, you might be surprised at the age range here. It's pretty large.