Meanwhile, in the USA

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
Bicycler
Posts: 3400
Joined: 4 Dec 2013, 3:33pm

Re: Meanwhile, in the USA

Post by Bicycler »

Vorpal wrote:Less that half of US Americans own guns (the actual numbers are not well known, but probably around 35%), and the majority of the guns in US households are for hunting. People just don't carry guns around in their cars, the way they do in the movies.

The police think they do! I was a passenger in a car which was pulled over for speeding. The driver (a fellow Brit) stepped out of the car (as you do) only to have guns pulled on him before he was ordered to get back in the car.
Vorpal
Moderator
Posts: 20697
Joined: 19 Jan 2009, 3:34pm
Location: Not there ;)

Re: Meanwhile, in the USA

Post by Vorpal »

Bicycler wrote:The police think they do! I was a passenger in a car which was pulled over for speeding. The driver (a fellow Brit) stepped out of the car (as you do) only to have guns pulled on him before he was ordered to get back in the car.


That's not because the Police assumed he had a gun. It was because the protocol in the USA is you sit in the car & the police approach you. They assume that anyone who does differently
-has criminal intentions
-is going to flee
or
-poses a threat

A gun is just one of many possibilities, & not the most likely.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
Vorpal
Moderator
Posts: 20697
Joined: 19 Jan 2009, 3:34pm
Location: Not there ;)

Re: Meanwhile, in the USA

Post by Vorpal »

TonyR wrote:
Vorpal wrote:People just don't carry guns around in their cars, the way they do in the movies.


Have you looked at the Concealed Carry numbers in the US? And Google will provide you with plenty of examples of road rage shootings. The other person possibly carrying a gun reduces crime is one of the main arguments of the US concealed carry proponents

Maybe 2 or 3 percent of the population have concealed carry permits. Not all of those are for guns. Some are for things like pepper spray, for which a permit is required in some states. And not all permit holders go around carrying guns all the time. They really don't. I lived in the USA for more than 35 years, and I never knew anyone who carried a gun, nor saw one carried by anyone other than a police officer in public. I knew several people (and some extended family) who had rifles at home, and used them for hunting.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
TonyR
Posts: 5390
Joined: 31 Aug 2008, 12:51pm

Re: Meanwhile, in the USA

Post by TonyR »

Vorpal wrote:They assume that anyone who does differently
-has criminal intentions
-is going to flee
or
-poses a threat

A gun is just one of many possibilities, & not the most likely.


You don't need to pull a gun to deal with those. You only need to pull one if you are worried they might. And there have been enough police officers shot by motorists they've pulled over to make the concern real
Vorpal
Moderator
Posts: 20697
Joined: 19 Jan 2009, 3:34pm
Location: Not there ;)

Re: Meanwhile, in the USA

Post by Vorpal »

TonyR wrote:
Vorpal wrote:They assume that anyone who does differently
-has criminal intentions
-is going to flee
or
-poses a threat

A gun is just one of many possibilities, & not the most likely.


You don't need to pull a gun to deal with those. You only need to pull one if you are worried they might. And there have been enough police officers shot by motorists they've pulled over to make the concern real
Well, from the police perspective a gun may be an appropriate way to deal with any threat. I didn't say that the concern wasn't real, only that it was one of several possibilities, and not the most likely. The police pulling out guns doesn't necessarily mean that they assume someone has a gun, only that the person may be a threat in some way.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
Post Reply