Originally Posted by
haiqtpi
Here is my issue with that mentality: it is anecdotal--that is, based on your own experiences, you have formed your own judgments and, more importantly, biases. You have a predetermined frame of mind that you will take into situations, and I think that this is a red flag. As someone who lives in NYC, for example, there are so many people who are injured as innocent bystanders when police engage criminals with their own firearms. While police can always use more training, the fact is that they DO train in these kinds of encounters, and regardless of how many "classes" you take, or however much time you spent in the military, you are not prepared or trained for this kind of encounter. A gun makes it very easy to bypass the whole process of rational thought and analysis of situation. How are you qualified to judge whether or not someone's life is/is not in danger? I pose the same question with your already formed mindset of why you carry a firearm.
In a perfect world, yes, there should not be an issue for wide spread gun use, but that assumes responsibility, and more importantly, self-control. Humans are fucking scary animals, and I think that allowing people to carry weapons which can end a life in an instant, is a fucking horrible decision. I must admit, it makes me so uncomfortable how so many of the "pro-gun" lobby all tend to describe themselves as Chuck Norris, and that anyone who fucks up with guns are simply untrained idiots--this simply is not reasonable, let alone statistically possible. People assault others all the fucking time, and you want to tell me that people should be carrying handguns all willy-nilly? People get drunk, people get high, people get fucking angry. Think about all the shit that humans do to each other without weapons, and then imagine those same people carrying weapons. It is so illogical, and frustration only increases exponentially when I acknowledge that no matter how logical/illogical something is, that guns are so deeply ingrained in the American psyche that they will never go away, much to my dismay.
Edit: I'd also like to point out what happens when we have a tendency to confront with firearms--just check out police shooting statistics.