Great post by user Serenity on 1911forums (entire thread here):

I was thinking the other day, not about the rabidly anti-gun forces and how to reach them (they are pretty much a lost cause) but about how much could possibly be done if the more or less apathetic non-gun crowd could be reached and educated. So I came up with 10 things I’d like non-gun people to know about most CWP holders.

Tell me what you think and add your own points too if you like.

There’s a lot of misinformation out there these days about people who have chosen to exercise their right to carry a concealed weapon according to the provisions made by state governments.

Here are a few things that CWP holders want people to know about them. Now of course there are exceptions to these general rules but I think you’ll find these things to be true about the vast majority of your legally carrying neighbors.

1. We don’t carry firearms so that we can ignore other basics of personal safety. Every permit holder that I know realizes that almost all dangerous situations can be avoided by vigilance, alertness and by simply making wise choices about where one goes and what one does. We don’t walk down dark alleys. We lock our cars. We don’t get intoxicated in public or hang out around people who do. We park our cars in well lighted spots and don’t hang out in bad parts of town where we have no business. A gun is our last resort, not our first.

2. We don’t think we are cops, spies, or superheros. We aren’t hoping that somebody tries to rob the convenience store while we are there so we can shoot a criminal. We don’t take it upon ourselves to get involved in situations that are better handled by a 911 call or by simply standing by and being a good witness. We don’t believe our guns give us any authority over our fellow citizens. We also aren't here to be your unpaid volunteer bodyguard. We'll be glad to tell you where we trained and point you to some good gun shops if you feel you want to take this kind of responsibility for your personal safety. Except for extrordinary circumstances your business is your business, don't expect us to help you out of situations you could have avoided.

3. We are LESS likely, not more likely, to be involved in fights or “rage” incidents than the general public. We recognize, better than many unarmed citizens, that we are responsible for our actions. We take the responsibility of carrying a firearm very seriously. We know that loss of temper, getting into fights or angrily confronting someone after a traffic incident could easily escalate into a dangerous situation. We are more likely to go out of our way to avoid these situations. We don’t pull our guns to settle arguments or to attempt to threaten people into doing what we want.

4. We are responsible gun owners. We secure our firearms so that children and other unauthorized people cannot access them. Most of us have invested in safes, cases and lock boxes as well as other secuity measures to keep our firearms secure. Many of us belong to various organizations that promote firearms safety and ownership.

5. Guns are not unsafe or unpredictable. Modern firearms are well made precision instruments. Pieces do not simply break off causing them to fire. A hot day will not set them off. Most modern firearms will not discharge even if dropped. There is no reason to be afraid of a gun simply laying on a table or in a holster. It is not going to discharge on its own.

6. We do not believe in the concept of “accidental discharges”. There are no accidental discharges only negligent discharges or intentional discharges. We take responsibility for our actions and have learned how to safely handle firearms. Any case you have ever heard of about a gun “going off” was the result of negligence on somebody’s part. Our recognition of our responsibility and familiarity with firearms makes us among the safest firearms owners in America.

7. Permit holders do their best to keep our concealed weapons exactly that: concealed. However, there are times with an observant fellow citizen may spot our firearm or the print of our firearm under our clothes. We are very cognizant that concerns about terrorism and crime are in the forefront of the minds of most citizens. We also realize that our society does much to condition our fellow citizens to have sometimes irrational fears about firearms. We would encourage citizens who do happen to spot someone carrying a firearm to use good judgment and clear thinking if they feel to need to take action. Please recognize that it’s very uncommon for a criminal to use a holster. However, if you feel the need to report having spotted a firearm we would ask that you please be specific and detailed in your call to the police or in your report to a store manager or private security. Please don’t generalize or sensationalize what you observed. Comments like “there’s a guy running around in the store with a gun” or even simply “I saw a man with a gun in the store” could possibly cause a misunderstanding as to the true nature of the incident.

8. The fact that we carry a firearm to any given place does not mean that we believe that place to be inherently unsafe. If we believe a place to be unsafe, most of us would avoid that place all together if possible. However, we recognize that trouble could occur at any place and at any time. Criminals do not observe “gun free zones”. If trouble does come, we do not want the only armed persons to be perpetrators. Therefore, we don't usually make a determination about whether or not to carry at any given time based on "how safe" we think a location is.

9. Concealed weapon permit holders are an asset to the public in times of trouble. The fact that most permit holders have the good judgment to stay out of situations better handled by a 911 call or by simply being a careful and vigilant witness does not mean that we would fail to act in situations where the use of deadly force is appropriate to save lives. Review of high profile public shooting incidents shows that when killers are confronted by armed resistance they tend to either break off the attack and flee or choose to end their own life. Lives are saved when resistance engages a violent criminal. Lives are lost when the criminal can do as he pleases.

10. The fact that criminals know that some of the population may be armed at any given time helps to deter violence against all citizens. Permit holders don’t believe that every person should necessarily be armed. We recognize that some people may not be temperamentally suited to carry a firearm or simply may wish not to for personal reasons. However we do encourage you to respect our right to arm ourselves. Even if you choose not to carry a firearm yourself please oppose measures to limit the ability of law abiding citizens to be armed. As mentioned before: criminals do not observe “gun free zones”. Help by not supporting laws that require citizens to be unarmed victims.
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Very well put.

 

Unfortunately no one who disagrees with this post will ever read it.

 

Good post. Agreed...its the ppl carrying without the cwp are the ones we should be wary of

 

Lets all carry guns, that will help!

More guns to the people.

Bigger guns for all.

Two guns in the car and five under the bed!

More guns More guns More guns.

People that love guns should have like 16 guns - The world will be sooo safe.

 

Actually, in the hands of law abiding citizens it would. You're making the assumption via your sarcastic, euro-snob tone that gun owners are criminals and are therefor dangerous. You've got it backwards.

How about trying a reasoned, logical approach, as opposed to an emotionally charged, sarcastic, uneducated tone?

 

Im making no assumption on who is a criminal and who is not.

Im sorry. I must be wrong. The world will be a better place with more guns.

The world should look at the success of the American gun policies and use it for the rest of the world!

And easy with the "euro-snob", namecalling seems uncalled for. I didnt call gun owners rednecks. You dont know me or where im from.

More Guns More Guns More Guns More Guns More Guns More Guns More Guns

 

I agree, I think its excessive that citizens carry firearms throughout their daily travels.

The more people that have guns, the more accessible they are, the more likely your going to have high levels of gun crime. Statistics show it.

That said, its your country and your free to each do as you wish as your obviously breaking no laws.

That said, I never worry that I'm going to be held up or shot when I walk the streets at night, step out of my front door in the morning, during my day or when I put my head down at night.

 

With all due respect, you still don't get it and I doubt you ever will. Statistics do not show what you state.

Just for arguments sake, I will give you the benefit and ask you to post your source of the statistics that show CWP holders as major contributors to a rise in handgun-related crime in the US.

Please respond promptly.

 

With all due respect, I absoultely do get it.

I never feel threatened in my own home, or in my daily travels anywhere in my country. I never fear being held up, home invaded or shot with a weapon in any instance. Do you? If not, why do you feel the need to carry in daily life?

I live in Australia, we have (along with the UK) some of the strictest gun laws in the world. It's a 6 month exercise to get a licence here, including detailed background checks from law enforcement, proof of membership to a gun club (and continual licence participation) along with proof of hunting. There are also huge restrictions as to the weapons you can possess, eg. No semi-automatic rifles and huge limitations of handguns (totally different licence category with differing requirements and probationary periods of 6+ months plus minimum 4 shoots per year to keep your licence). There is plenty of reading on Australian Gun Laws here

Proof in point. In my state of NSW with a population of 5 million, 15 people were killed with firearms in 2006.

What part of "its your country, do as you wish" were you unable to appreciate. Fact is, its simple arithmetic, little or no gun laws lead to more weapons, which leads to more access, which in turn ultimately leads to higher rates of gun crime(s) and shootings.

I'd like to see an argument stating that people having the right to carry in a Westernised society leads to reduced gun crime and murder rates when comparative to societies with stringent gun laws governing their availability and use.

Case in point.

In 1996, we had a huge massacre which in turn lead to the massive overhaul of gun laws in the country. That one incident accounted for over 6% of all deaths (35, with an additional 37 injured in the one incident) that year (totally 521).

By comparison, in the same year in the US you had 34,040 people killed with firearms. How would you explain the huge descrepency? Population size isn't even a factor, if you put them on an even keel US gun rates are still around 500% higher.

Our gun crime and murder rate with weapons has decreased across the board substantially since the new laws have come into effect.