Originally posted by Walosi
In one instance (Oklahoma) the panel empowered to review and approve/disapprove written requests for reciprocity from other states seems to be an enclave of the last hold-out, bureucratic "antis". They had predicted death and destruction, blood and gunfights at the OK Corral if the CCW bill was passed in their state. When this failed to happen, they went into "terminal pout". An LEO acquaintance who testified at one of their review hearings overheard the comment "I'm damned if I will give them an additional inch, since they've gotten away with so much up 'til now". Common people, you know, are not competent to defend themselves when there are so many knowledgeble bureaucrats bent on ruling them. We had a few, but the question "What sort of politician or LEO is afraid of an honest citizen with a gun?" seemed to change several postions, if not their actual attitudes
WalosiI think part of my confusion springs from the seemingly inanity of many of the US laws and part of my confusion is from lack of knowledge about gun-laws: I dont understand exactly what reciprocity laws are (I mean, I understand the words, just not what the details of such laws would be).
Though I must say, as an aside, Im not a great supporter of whatever amendment or declaration or whatever it is which allows citizens to bear arms. Its not the amendment/declaration in general which bothers me (in principle I agree), its handguns which puts me out. Im sure that some of the cantina-members are gunowners, and Ive no desire to start a debate on handguns (and Id be an NRA member, if it really was the National
Rifle AssociationI see absolutely no reason why people shouldnt be allowed to have rifles. One can still murder someone with a rifle, but its bloody hard to conceal one). Perhaps Im wrong about this, but, for instance, I remember reading a study of hand-gun-related-murders, comparing the UK with the USA. In 1990 or something like that, there were about 15 handgun-related murders in the UK and about 10,000 handgun murders in the USA. Now, admittedly the USA contains more people, but not that many moreUK population is round 50million, USA is round 250million, if I remember righteven if one multiplies 15 by 5 thats still nowhere near 10,000
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Again, I dont want to debate the pointfrom my experience in this cantina, Id be perfectly comfortable with any of the cantina-members owning as many guns of whatever size, and concealling 20 guns on their person, if they so desired. Its all of the other people I worry aboutand I just dont know what sort of laws one can set up to separate the chaff from the grain so to speak. Its just living in Baltimore for a number of years now
.theres almost a murder a day here, and 99% of those are with handguns. And there was a murder in an alley about 20 steps from my front door, so
.
What I dont understand is the seeming worry about knives in the USA, especially in the face of the rather lenient (from my point of view) laws on guns. Once, waiting for a bus, I met a man who told me about how he was put into gaol after stabbing a man in self-defence. Apparently (if I can believe him), the man was trying to rob him and when he just walked away, this man came running at him with a gun. So he (the 1st man) pulled out a knife and the man with the gun essentially impaled himself on it (he didnt die or anything either). But it was the man with the knife who was thrown into gaol for 2 years because of whatever the Maryland laws concerning knives and self-defence are (apparently Maryland has strange self-defence laws).
In any case, I dont remember what the original point of this posting was
Oh, basically just my ill-understanding of reciprocity laws
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Cheers all, Ben.
