The fact is those girls could have had guns in their purses and it's entirely plausible that if so one of them might have reached for it in order to exercise her constitutional right to defend herself and 'stand her ground'. In a heavily armed society, the rational solution is that all government officials that might ever have to challenge the public need to be armed and assume hostile intent at all times. Hence pulling guns on kids buying water is the expected result. It's all for the best, in the best of all possible worlds.

That's not at all the case. I live in very "red" state in the US where firearm ownership and concealed carry rates are among the highest in the nation. Law enforcement officials are more polite and friendly here than they have been in any other part of the country that I have lived including NYC and the Bay Area. Unfortunately, there appears to be little correlation between the degree of aggression shown by law enforcement and the likelihood that they will face armed resistance.

> those girls could have had guns in their purses

So could I. And with the right equipment pigs might fly.

But really how likely is it?

I suspect that the comment from simonh may have contained a degree of sarcasm.

True, but that particular part of it was written with an absolutely straight face. There could have been a gun in the car, in the glove compartment, etc. In an entire career as an enforcement officer, there's a real chance at some point you will encounter a situation like that. In which case, rationally you have to treat every situation like that. My comment was sarcastic to a point, but these are the real actual, even necessary consequences of near ubiquitous access to guns in a society.

I remember seeing a clip of a cop walking up to a car only to get a shotgun unloaded into him as he reached the window to ask for license etc.

Next time he does a traffic stop you can bet he's going to be humourless and aggressive in making sure that the drivers hands are visible - probably with his hand on his weapon. I expect most of the colleagues who spoke to him would also let this influence their attitude.

Being from the UK probably helps - but I have tremendous sympathy for anyone policing under those conditions and how hard it must be to maintain balance.

does the ubiquity of guns among the public inspire you to conduct yourself to a high standard during your job?

No, because I live in the UK. I conduct my self to a high standard because it's the right thing to do.

Well... in the past week, I've been in that particular shopping center four times that I can recall. All four of those times I was armed.

I'd say the odds a random person on the street in Charlottesville, VA is legally armed is probably 3-5%, given the number of CHPs issued by the state.

It's also interesting to note that no license or permit is required in Virginia to carry a loaded handgun in the glovebox of your vehicle.