> I can't imagine attending an event where people could carry concealed weapon

Have you ever been to America? If so, you have almost certainly already attended countless events where somebody in the audience had a gun. The staggering majority of the time there are no incidents, so it is easy to overlook this.

"Gun Owner Openly Carries Gun To Little League Game Without Incident" doesn't make for nearly as sensational a headline as "Thirty-Seven Massacred At Redbox Dropoff" and newspapers exist to tell us about sensational events.

I won't deny that there are responsible gun owners, but they're not a problem. The problem is that any nutjob can carry a gun and by the time he or she has demonstrated working knowledge of a safety and trigger, it's too late.

Even the nutjobs we know are nutjobs are allowed to carry.

And yes, there are people who carry as a condition of their job, even when they're not on the job. But they are somewhat answerable to some authority other than their own recognizance.

If someone can figure out how to spot the difference between an armed, responsible individual and an armed, irresponsible nutjob, that person will make a fortune.

"The problem is that any nutjob can carry a gun...."

If you mean legally, that turns out not to be the case. Or at least most states have prior restraint licencing requirements, which have done a great job of weeding out "nutjobs". Even those that don't, like Vermont (forever, never got into 19th and early 20th century anti-black/immigrant gun grabbing), Alaska, Wyoming, and populated Arizona, where you can carry concealed if you're not a criminal or an adjudicated "nutcase", have had no problems of this sort (if they had, you and I would have heard about them).

Per the GAO and scholar Clayton Cramer, as of the summer of 2013 there were 8 million licensed concealed carriers. If this is a problem, where's the blood on the streets?

Or is the problem rank bigotry by people who know nothing about these sorts of people?

>"Gun Owner Openly Carries Gun To Little League Game Without Incident" doesn't make for nearly as sensational a headline as "Thirty-Seven Massacred At Redbox Dropoff" and newspapers exist to tell us about sensational events.

I wish that 'Seemingly Responsible Gun-Owning Ex-Policeman/Soldier Accidentally Leaves Gun in Movie Theater Seat' informed the debate a little more. Happened twice to me while working as a movie theater usher in Arkansas.

And this a great danger because ... what?

It is of course a danger, but so is crossing the street.

What did you do when you found those weapons?

>And this a great danger because ... what?

It's a great danger because a 10 year old could have picked them up and shot someone.

>It is of course a danger, but so is crossing the street.

And so is kissing an ebola patient. What's your point?

>What did you do when you found those weapons?

The boring, responsible thing, and the occasions passed without incident.

Can you elaborate on who you consider "nutjobs"?

As far as I can tell, the biggest factor at play in these shootings is an inability on the part of the American public to understand mental health.

Really, really depends on the state. If from a May-Issue state there is a good chance the only interaction a person gets with someone carrying is the police.

I'd say that even in NYC, you're probably around (illegal, in that case) concealed weapons more often than you would suspect. In most of the country, you will frequently be around many (legally) concealed weapons though.

The trick is concealed. The general public, even in cities in red-states, typically only sees guns when a policeman is carrying it. Open carry protesters provide exceptions to this, but most people are not particularly interested in open carry.

I'm guessing you don't know many folks who carry? Off-duty police, former military, parents and plumbers. Not a lot to fear. In fact lots of cases its been shown to be safer to have such folks around.

Neither a gun nut or gun grabber, but do you have a cite for that?

You're going to be hard pressed to get a real citation for the safety thing. The issue is just so complex you can't have a 1 to 1 relationship between concealed carry and crime rates. Some states release CCP numbers though and they're plenty of people doing it.

Any documented instance of concealed carry preventing a crime? Strictly using my imagination, I see far more opportunity for escalation of and accidental violence than for prevention.

Going all the way back to yesterday....

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/harrisburg_politics/Two-l...

> Confronted by a gunman just blocks from the state Capitol on Tuesday night, a Democratic legislator from Northeastern Pennsylvania pulled his own weapon and traded fire with a would-be robber.

Remaining question is to look up the legislator own voting record on the issue of gun control.

What would anecdotal examples reveal? Seems more likely to confuse the question.

There are plenty. People aren't evil by default. Give them more credit.

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/03/125342-armed-man-gathers-peo...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqkqzsIjujI

http://bearingarms.com/concealed-carry-permit-holder-stops-s...

@ the last link:

I don't think that would fit into the case of "preventing a crime", the guy shot 3 people then started leaving, before he got shot

That makes the proposition largely unfalsifiable. That is---and this is a very minimal report---we can't know if someone who momentarily stopped shooting would continue.

However, continuing to extrapolate from this report, neither police (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_v._Garner) nor civilians are allowed to use lethal force on someone who's ceased threatening and is simply fleeing. If a case cannot be made that the threat was still there, guy who shot him should have been charged.

Safer only because the criminals also have guns. But not actually safer at all. I'd rather the UK where people don't carry. Much safer there. Just look at the number of gun deaths in the UK vs the US.

SO what replaces "gun deaths" in the UK? Bullying, physical violence? To call it 'safer' you'd have to talk about actual public safety, not just cherry-pick one stat.

Yes, a stat like people being shot and dying. 8.8k firearm related homicides in 2012. Plus 20k firearm-related suicides in 2010, the last year I can conveniently find numbers.

Your post may seriously be the stupidest thing I've ever read in my life.

There were 70,000+ cases of violent crime in the UK in 2014. Which of those replace the so-called gun crimes? Without knowing that, you've got nothing to compare to.

In what country do you live? In the US, I assume that 10-15% of adults are carrying a handgun wherever I go, and I feel perfectly safe with it. In some states, like New Hampshire, I think it's probably more like 1/3.

I live in Europe, so I'm a pearl-clutching sort of guy. :)

If you come to USA, I strongly suggest attending this festival:

http://porcfest.com/

It's full of the warmest, most incredible energy. Lots of people hacking on incredible projects outside in the sun or under gazebos. Awesome local food. And lots and lots of guns.

This is much more of a state thing than a country thing. I've never seen a gun in real life (except holstered on a cop), living in New Jersey and New York.

you probably did attend such event, but the weapons were concealed