Mass Shooting El Paso...

[firstfloor]

You would make a very good storm-trooper or concentration camp guard. The marching about would keep you fit.

[Sparko]

There are some weird open carry wackos who seem to think they're making a point about their legal rights by walking around armed to the teeth into places like Walmart, or down highways. There's even a video of two gun right guys walking into a police station armed to the teeth and wearing masks because they wanted to complain to someone at the station for being pulled over earlier in the day because they were suspiciously wandering around wearing tactical vests and masks.

That first video also shows why you don't see mass shooters go into places where they know people have guns. I think if these shooters knew there was a high probability that they would be stopped by citizens carrying guns in a location, they would not try to start something.

But man, those guys were idiots in that video.

[Cow Poke]

The USA, under GOP leadership, may end up being the most powerful fascist country that the world has ever seen. Unlike the Third Reich, the USA will not be defeated by military conflict. White nationalism is on the march again, and it holds aloft, The Holy Bible, and it picks fights with the weakest, first.

LSD flashback, perhaps?

[Cow Poke]

That first video also shows why you don't see mass shooters go into places where they know people have guns. I think if these shooters knew there was a high probability that they would be stopped by citizens carrying guns in a location, they would not try to start something.

But man, those guys were idiots in that video.

That happened here a couple years ago (just prior to our open carry handgun law in 2016) -- a couple guys walking around with openly carried long guns were causing numerous phone calls and general concern. They were walking around downtown near the courthouse. The police did a similar contact, but no laws were broken. However, several of our concealed carry license holders "joined up with" the guys carrying the long guns just to keep an eye on them. When the guys with the long guns asked what was going on, one of the old guys said, "oh, we just like guns, too, so we're gonna hang out with you - be part of your posse".

It was really frustrating for the "demonstrators", cause they felt like they were being babysat. They were. When a citizen would look alarmed at the guys with the long guns, one of the old guys would respond with "It's OK, we're keeping an eye on them".

Eventually, they got tired of it, and disappeared.

[Adrift]

That first video also shows why you don't see mass shooters go into places where they know people have guns. I think if these shooters knew there was a high probability that they would be stopped by citizens carrying guns in a location, they would not try to start something.

Can you really imagine a world where every restaurant, club, gym, daycare, school, office, theater, grocery store, beach, park, etc., would require one or more armed guards? What an insane nightmare of a world that would be. I mean, things are already bad, but the idea that every place should have someone with a weapon in it seems post-apocalyptic. And I can't help think that all it would do in the end is amplify the response. Bad guys have guns, good guys get guns, bad guys start carrying more efficient guns, good guys respond with more efficient guns, bad guys cover themselves in body armor and carry rocket launchers, good guys.... I mean, at what point does this all get out of hand. Instead of arming everyone over the age of 8 with a gun, it seems to me that we need to find better ways of deescalation.

But man, those guys were idiots in that video.

Yep.

[Cow Poke]

Can you really imagine a world where every restaurant, club, gym, daycare, school, office, theater, grocery store, beach, park, etc., would require one or more armed guards?

Sometimes, you can get them for FREE!

When Texas adopted our concealed carry law, one of the "stop and rob" convenient stores in NW Houston posted a big sign that said "Free coffee for CHL holders who drink it here".

When you walk in to rob that store (it was happening nearly quarterly) and see a couple bubbas drinking coffee at their little seating area, you have to wonder if they're armed and waiting....

I haven't looked lately, but for quite a while, that store became pretty durn safe.

[Mountain Man]

You would make a very good storm-trooper or concentration camp guard. The marching about would keep you fit.

Stormtrooper? I'm more of a Luke Skywalker type.

[firstfloor]

LSD flashback, perhaps?

Keep an eye on the direction of travel. Look at what they do, not what they say. Look at the human misery and fear that they create.

[Cow Poke]

Keep an eye on the direction of travel. Look at what they do, not what they say. Look at the human misery and fear that they create.

While running down the road yelling "The SKY is falling, the SKY is falling...."

[RumTumTugger]

Sometimes, you can get them for FREE!

When Texas adopted our concealed carry law, one of the "stop and rob" convenient stores in NW Houston posted a big sign that said "Free coffee for CHL holders who drink it here".

When you walk in to rob that store (it was happening nearly quarterly) and see a couple bubbas drinking coffee at their little seating area, you have to wonder if they're armed and waiting....

I haven't looked lately, but for quite a while, that store became pretty durn safe.

reminds me of a story from a list of stupidest criminals. Guy came to a town and decided to rob at gun point one of the local businesses he made a number of mistakes. He had to walk around a police car to get to the shop, he was in a right to carry jurisdiction and it was a gun shop he choose to rob. you can bet what happened.

[KingsGambit]

On a serious note, the idea that a "good guy with a gun" can be relied on to stop things has to come into question if an entire Wal-Mart full of Texans couldn't stop this guy.

[Sparko]

Can you really imagine a world where every restaurant, club, gym, daycare, school, office, theater, grocery store, beach, park, etc., would require one or more armed guards? What an insane nightmare of a world that would be. I mean, things are already bad, but the idea that every place should have someone with a weapon in it seems post-apocalyptic. And I can't help think that all it would do in the end is amplify the response. Bad guys have guns, good guys get guns, bad guys start carrying more efficient guns, good guys respond with more efficient guns, bad guys cover themselves in body armor and carry rocket launchers, good guys.... I mean, at what point does this all get out of hand. Instead of arming everyone over the age of 8 with a gun, it seems to me that we need to find better ways of deescalation.



Yep.

Um, a lot of stores do have armed security (or even off duty police).

But I was talking about if it were more popular for armed civilians to be walking around. If a gun man knew that say 20% of the population in a town went around armed, he would probably not try to be a mass shooter of the sort we have been seeing lately.

But I am talking about handguns. Not walking around carrying long rifles scaring the crap out of everyone. That is just dumb. A lot of places have laws saying that you must carry concealed or not carry at all in public. And even open carry requires the handgun to be secured in a holster.

[Sparko]

On a serious note, the idea that a "good guy with a gun" can be relied on to stop things has to come into question if an entire Wal-Mart full of Texans couldn't stop this guy.

I heard they stopped him pretty quickly (or was that the Dayton guy?) - but my "idea" was not so much how fast armed people could stop the gunman, but that if the gunman knew that he was walking into an place with armed people, he probably wouldn't try anything in the first place. Kinda like Russia won't attack us because they know we have an army.

[KingsGambit]

I heard they stopped him pretty quickly (or was that the Dayton guy?) - but my "idea" was not so much how fast armed people could stop the gunman, but that if the gunman knew that he was walking into an place with armed people, he probably wouldn't try anything in the first place. Kinda like Russia won't attack us because they know we have an army.

Not really, he wasn't stopped until police showed up, six minutes into the incident. By that time, he had shot 46 people.

[seanD]

On a serious note, the idea that a "good guy with a gun" can be relied on to stop things has to come into question if an entire Wal-Mart full of Texans couldn't stop this guy.

He was targeting a place he apparently knew there were very few armed folks. He even admitted this in his manifesto. Contrary to popular belief, all of Texas is not staunchly conservative. There are very liberal pockets here and there.