Open carry = open season for cops

[Prawn Connery]

I own guns. I like guns. But the fact is, guns make a lot of people nervous. Especially cops. I can't imagine what it would be like here in Australia if everyone walked around with holstered firearms. Just the thought of getting into an argument on the street with someone over something trivial, or being involved in a road-rage incident that escalates far beyond the usual punch-up is enough to make me think it's a bad idea.

But what really seals the deal for me is when I see traffic stops like this in the US that end up with literally dozens of shots fired into someone who was pulled over for a licence plate issue.

https://nypost.com/2023/03/09/footage-s ... -him-dead/

Was he reaching for his seatbelt or his holstered gun? Who knows. But if you're a cop in a US state where everyone carries guns and every traffic stop is a potential shoot-out, you're going to be one nervous mofo most of the time.

At least when I get pulled over by a cop, I know the worst that's gong to happen to me is I'm going to get a ticket. Cops just aren't nervous here like they are in the US. I know, because I've been pulled over by cops in the US and on at least one occasion it scared the fuck out of me because he had his hand near his holster the whole bloody time!

Surely there's a common-sense medium? I'm not against anyone owning a firearm. But do people really need to carry them around in public all the time? It just makes people nervous. And I'm not at all a nervous person around firearms.

[rSin]

alot of em go to churches were its the dress code

aint just the men preening to...

[Lrus007]

everyone should mandatory. be a bloody 2 years or so.
but after the purge most people will be polite again.

[Prawn Connery]

I've heard the argument that "An armed society is a polite society" but it doesn't seem to make people any less nervous – especially cops. America has the politest cops I've ever seen . . . until they shoot you dead!

Honestly, I don't know what the solution is. There are already so many guns in American society that you can never get rid of all or even a sizeable proportion of them. I don't even know if "getting rid of firearms" will ever be an option. I can only tell you what it's like living in a society where owning a firearm is not a god-given right, and that if you do own one you have to show genuine need and adhere to strict rules.

Despite what a lot of Americans think, there are still many firearms in Australia. The main difference comes down to the number of handguns vs long arms. Civilians cannot own handguns in Australia unless they are a member of a pistol club with full support from the club. Once you lose club support, you lose your handgun.

You are allowed to own rifles and shotguns for hunting (as well as target sports), but you are not allowed to own semi-automatics unless you are a professional shooter who needs them for work.

Self-defence is not a "genuine reason" to own a gun in Australia, so that is perhaps the biggest difference. You cannot buy a gun simply to protect your home, let alone buy one to walk around the street hanging off your hip in the unlikely event someone else with a firearm just happens to want to do you harm.

Because there are so few handguns sold in Australia, very few criminals have them – so that kind of kills the argument that "the only way to defeat a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun". Gun crime is so rare here that when it happens it's a huge deal (and leads to cries for even more gun control measures). And most times there are shootings, it's usually underworld figures killing other criminals, so civilians are rarely harmed. The crims know if they use a gun the cops are going to come down on them like a tone of bricks, so they use them sparingly.

Gun crimes still happen, but I personally do not know a single person who has ever been a victim of gun crime in this country.

Before you ask, the reality is if you live in a remote part of Australia, you are likely going to own a rifle to dispatch animals on your property. So if someone tries to break into your home, you would likely use that firearm to defend yourself. So there is still an element of self-protection, but it its tacit.

[Butcher Bob]

Oh you don't need a weapon for police to unload...


I mean how often do you get to mag-dump your assault rifle out your windshield?

And even when they are completely justified hunting an active shooter, they'll shoot anything that moves...
Cop #1 gets shot in the chest by the shooter...then cop #2 shoots cop #3 in the legs, thinking he's the criminal...



First two rules I learned aboot handling guns...
1 - Never point your gun at anything you don't intend to shoot.
2 - Always, ALWAYS, check your target...to make sure you don't shoot toward an unintended target.

Cops can't seem to follow simple safety rules. I've seen countless videos of cops not giving a fuk aboot their crossfire.

[ripper5]

Never owned one, but I'm thinking about it just to have for home protection.
Since they're so prevalent, tis "better to have one and not need it, than to need one and not have it."

[Jesús Malverde]

Firearms owners generally only kill themselves. Darwin approved.

[rSin]

what i dont understand is how given bringing a gun home only increases its inhabitants risk of dying via firearm

why dont home insurance companies offer bonus for gun free homes and penalize gun owners for assume the risk?

[Prawn Connery]

Oh you don't need a weapon for police to unload...


I mean how often do you get to mag-dump your assault rifle out your windshield?

And even when they are completely justified hunting an active shooter, they'll shoot anything that moves...
Cop #1 gets shot in the chest by the shooter...then cop #2 shoots cop #3 in the legs, thinking he's the criminal...



First two rules I learned aboot handling guns...
1 - Never point your gun at anything you don't intend to shoot.
2 - Always, ALWAYS, check your target...to make sure you don't shoot toward an unintended target.

Cops can't seem to follow simple safety rules. I've seen countless videos of cops not giving a fuk aboot their crossfire.

That's what I'm saying. Cops are so nervous in the US due to everyone having guns that they shoot at anything out of fear. People simply don't get shot at traffic stops in other countries like they do in the US because there's not that initial fear.

[Lrus007]

everyone should carry
also should bring dueling back
thin the herd so to speak.
2 years tops, people be nicer..