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Do you carry one in the chamber?[W:26]

Do you carry with one in the chamber?


  • Total voters
    39
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

Handling a firearm with a round chambers is where firearm accidents come from. It's just one step closer to accidentally shooting someone and becoming the new poster child for egregious gun bans.


If you want to carry on an empty chamber, do so. I don't.


Four decades, no accidents of this kind. :shrug:
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

Handling a firearm with a round chambers is where firearm accidents come from. It's just one step closer to accidentally shooting someone and becoming the new poster child for egregious gun bans.

I disagree. Handling a firearm while assuming that no round is chambered is what causes problems. If you are possitive, either way, then no accident should occur.
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

You don't have to live in Somalia, or Chicago for that matter, to suffer very severe consequences from being victimized by a criminal and not be prepared to defend your life and person. This is demonstrated every day in every state in the union, and every province of Canada, and indeed almost everywhere.

The odds may vary, but even if the odds are long that is of no comfort whatsoever to the unlucky one who gets targeted by a criminal who cannot spell compassion let alone exhibit any.


Some of us have experienced these things first hand, or seen them impact people we care about; thus we are passionate about being prepared to defend ourselves and those we love.


There is no "safe place" on the face of the earth, that is an illusion. The only real safety we have is that which we can provide for ourselves.

Bullsh*t. I'm more likely to be eaten by a bear than be shot at, and I'm not afraid of bears. Fear has twisted your perception of danger.
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

Bullsh*t. I'm more likely to be eaten by a bear than be shot at, and I'm not afraid of bears. Fear has twisted your perception of danger.


I hear this sort of thing quite a bit from those of your perspective. It is untrue.


I do not live in fear. I do not go around in a constant state of anxiety over being attacked. Far from it.

I am simply aware, and take precautions. I carry a gun for reasons very similar to why I have a fire extinguisher by the bed, and a med kit in my truck.


Depending on where you live, perhaps you ARE more likely to be eaten by a bear than assaulted by a criminal... I wouldn't know, as you have not shared your location. :shrug:


However, my own life experiences, both as a private citizen and from my time in law enforcement, has taught me that there is no such thing as a safe neighborhood, that is simply a lie people tell themselves so they don't have to deal with the truth: that there is no such thing.


Plenty of people in this county have told me 'oh, I live in a SAFE neighborhood'. Most of the time I can ask them where they live, then give them a litany of violent or serious crimes that have occurred in their supposedly "safe" neighborhood that they've either forgotten about or never heard of.


:shrug: To each his own. I have no interest in telling you how to live your life. I appreciate the same courtesy from others.
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

No sir. I am a former law enforcement officer. My experiences have brought me to the belief that the concept of "Oh, I live in a safe neighborhood" is largely an illusion, and that there are no guarantees of safety anywhere except that which you create. Given the severity of the consequences of being unprepared, consequences which I have all too often seen with my own eyes, I choose to take responsibility for my own protection and that of my family.

And yes, I've dealt with potentially dangerous situations as a civilian where I was very glad to be armed.


No macho fantasies involved, just pragmatic choices based on life experience.

My pragmatic choices have been made based on life experiences, too, and I'll flat-out guarantee you I'm more likely to be struck by lightening while pissing on a pine tree than I am to be shot at. I'm 59 years old and I've seen real-live handguns twice in my life. I've hunted since I was 16 and never had a round in the chamber unless I was ready to shoot. And I never felt fear anywhere, any time of night.
Maybe I'd be different if I lived where you do. Probably I'd have bugged out long ago.
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

I hear this sort of thing quite a bit from those of your perspective. It is untrue.


I do not live in fear. I do not go around in a constant state of anxiety over being attacked. Far from it.

I am simply aware, and take precautions. I carry a gun for reasons very similar to why I have a fire extinguisher by the bed, and a med kit in my truck.


Depending on where you live, perhaps you ARE more likely to be eaten by a bear than assaulted by a criminal... I wouldn't know, as you have not shared your location. :shrug:


However, my own life experiences, both as a private citizen and from my time in law enforcement, has taught me that there is no such thing as a safe neighborhood, that is simply a lie people tell themselves so they don't have to deal with the truth: that there is no such thing.


Plenty of people in this county have told me 'oh, I live in a SAFE neighborhood'. Most of the time I can ask them where they live, then give them a litany of violent or serious crimes that have occurred in their supposedly "safe" neighborhood that they've either forgotten about or never heard of.


:shrug: To each his own. I have no interest in telling you how to live your life. I appreciate the same courtesy from others.

C'est la vie, et c'est la guerre.
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

Bullsh*t. I'm more likely to be eaten by a bear than be shot at, and I'm not afraid of bears. Fear has twisted your perception of danger.

that is not consistent with reality when applied to most people. IF that were true, there would be more than tenK bear attacks. Your side constantly whines about the 10K firearms deaths each year (many of them mope on mope killings). I can think of maybe 2-4 fatal bear attacks a year. So your perception does not comport with known factual evidence
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

I stopped carrying several years ago, but when I did it was only logical to have one round in the chamber.

If you're going to be required to discharge your firearm for any reason, not having a round in the chamber represents one additional action. From a speed/ practicality standpoint, it doesn't make any sense to have an empty chamber.

Also, I always carried a Glock, which as previously stated has no safety.
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

Yes, I carry with a round in the chamber. It means I have faster access to my gun when I need it, and it gives me 7 round instead of 6, which might matter some day. My gun has no external safety, but it's got a long, fairly hard trigger pull, and I carry it in a pocket holster that covers the trigger guard so nothing can accidentally pull the trigger while it's in my pocket.
 
I don't keep a round in the chamber regardless of a safety, as I don't think it's a safe practice, but I tend to be overly cautious, since that's what I was taught.

Ver dangerous, Lizzie.

Empty your carry weapon - checking it twice.

Put it in your carry rig and wear it around the house for a week or so.

When you see it won't discharge, then you will trust it.

I did this many years ago, and it cured my fears.

I always carry with the gun 100% ready to go.

Fumbling to get a round chambered correctly while under duress would not be good.
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

Seriously? This is a consideration in your life? Or is it just an indulgence of macho juvenile fantasies.

I have a two-year old son that I often carry in my arms. When I carry him, I use my left arm in case there's some reason I need my right arm for emergency purposes. If I carried a gun on me, which I personally do not, I would often find myself in a position where I only have one arm free.

Pretty macho and juvenile, right?
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

You don't have to live in Somalia, or Chicago for that matter....

Chicago's crime has been greatly exaggerated by the partisan idiots in the media (We're on pace for the lowest murder rate in this city since the 1960's and crime is WAY down). Please don't perpetrate the nonsense by making a comparison to Somalia as this kind of nonsense undermines an intelligent discussion about guns.
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

Chicago's crime has been greatly exaggerated by the partisan idiots in the media (We're on pace for the lowest murder rate in this city since the 1960's and crime is WAY down). Please don't perpetrate the nonsense by making a comparison to Somalia as this kind of nonsense undermines an intelligent discussion about guns.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0Ak3IIavLYTovdHYxbDItQ255eWh1NzBiQXp5cmxRdmc&output=html

As of monday 9/2/2013

Chicago -274 murders
NYC -215
Detroit -197
Philadelphia -163
Baltimore -153
L.A. -140
New Orleans -92
St.Louis -70

Chicago is one of the deadliest cities in america.
If you look carefully at the link you may notice some trends that hold true in all of the cities above, also.
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

No. We decided three kids was enough.

Weird poll.
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0Ak3IIavLYTovdHYxbDItQ255eWh1NzBiQXp5cmxRdmc&output=html

As of monday 9/2/2013

Chicago -274 murders
NYC -215
Detroit -197
Philadelphia -163
Baltimore -153
L.A. -140
New Orleans -92
St.Louis -70

Chicago is one of the deadliest cities in america.
If you look carefully at the link you may notice some trends that hold true in all of the cities above, also.

Let's look at those numbers honestly by comparing populations. On that list, only NY and LA have larger populations than Chicago. The rest have at least 1.2 million fewer people. So LA and New york are safer by virtue of having larger populations and fewer murders (leading to a much lower murder rate). The rest actually require some mathematical analysis to determine relative "safety".

In order of population, removing NY and LA, we have:

Chicago: 2.7 million
Philadelphia: 1.54 million
Detroit: 700,000
Baltimore: 620,000
New Oreleans: 370,000
St. Louis: 320,000

So when we look at Chicago's 274 murders and compare that to our 2.7 million population, our murder rate is about 10.1 per 100,000
For Philadelphia. we have 163 murders compared to a population of 1.54 million population, leading to a rate of 10.5 per 100,000
For Detroit it's 197 murders for a 700,000 population, leading to a rate of 28.1 per 100,000!
For Baltimore, we take 153 from a 620,000 population, and get a rate of 24.6 per 100,000!
New Orleans? 24.8 per 100,000!
St Louis? 21.8 per 100,000!

Your city is more than twice as deadly as Chicago. TWICE as deadly! Why don't people talk about THAT "warzone"?
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

Let's look at those numbers honestly by comparing populations. On that list, only NY and LA have larger populations than Chicago. The rest have at least 1.2 million fewer people. So LA and New york are safer by virtue of having larger populations and fewer murders (leading to a much lower murder rate). The rest actually require some mathematical analysis to determine relative "safety".

In order of population, removing NY and LA, we have:

Chicago: 2.7 million
Philadelphia: 1.54 million
Detroit: 700,000
Baltimore: 620,000
New Oreleans: 370,000
St. Louis: 320,000

So when we look at Chicago's 274 murders and compare that to our 2.7 million population, our murder rate is about 10.1 per 100,000
For Philadelphia. we have 163 murders compared to a population of 1.54 million population, leading to a rate of 10.5 per 100,000
For Detroit it's 197 murders for a 700,000 population, leading to a rate of 28.1 per 100,000!
For Baltimore, we take 153 from a 620,000 population, and get a rate of 24.6 per 100,000!
New Orleans? 24.8 per 100,000!
St Louis? 21.8 per 100,000!

Your city is more than twice as deadly as Chicago. TWICE as deadly! Why don't people talk about THAT "warzone"?



You can't be pleased with a murder rate of 10.1 per 100k

N.O. has been called the murder capital of the world in the past. It may well be now. I don't have the data and I don't really care. It's horrific.

There are "NO GO" areas of the city. Care to guess why?
..and bro, we do talk about the problem here...ALL THE TIME. It's no secret and it has been noticed by the media. Hey, we're sick of it, believe that.


Did you happen to notice any trends in the spreadsheet? Those same trends hold true in every city on the list.
Now..how is THAT problem going to be addressed?
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

You can't be pleased with a murder rate of 10.1 per 100k

Pleased with it? Of course not. I've been active in trying to lower it by providing therapy to at-risk youths in the past. I want it lower, of course, but I also want an honest portrayal of what goes on here. There are many cities which are far more dangerous.

N.O. has been called the murder capital of the world in the past. It may well be now. I don't have the data and I don't really care. It's horrific.

There are "NO GO" areas of the city. Care to guess why?
..and bro, we do talk about the problem here...ALL THE TIME. It's no secret and it has been noticed by the media. Hey, we're sick of it, believe that.

Exactly. And when partisan bull**** like gun control/anti-gun control dominates the discussion, no solutions are ever going to be found. That's one of the big reasons why I am so adamantly opposed to the misportrayals of Chicago. they are employed by both sides to promote pure bull****.

I've personally taken action and have tried to have a direct effect on the issue. I'm but one man, and can only do so much. If everyone who was "outraged" by these things actually did something directly, instead of this tangential bull**** we see from politicians for scoring political points, the problem would be solved.

Carrying guns isn't going to lower our murder rate, nor is banning them going to do **** to lower it. Educating people, going out into those "no go" neighborhoods and being the change is going to make a ****ing difference. I've done it. It's not hard.


Did you happen to notice any trends in the spreadsheet? Those same trends hold true in every city on the list.
Now..how is THAT problem going to be addressed?

Most of them happen in the poorest neighborhoods in this city. It's only going to get addressed when people slap on some balls and go out there and make a difference, leading by example, and doing something. That starts with recognizing the real problems (rather than all of the bull**** that gets talked about) and becoming willing to provide the example which children in these areas can emulate. Help them with school. Show them that they can do it.

The thing is, it's ****ing HARD. You grow to really like the kids you work with and the sad truth is that you won't be able to help them all. Some will have too much bull**** at home or on their street to overcome. Some will end up dead or in jail before they are 25. It sucks. It's painful to allow yourself to care about them. To realize that they aren't "thugs" or "savages", but that they all start off as cute little kids who are in an incredibly ****ed up and unfair environment.

And that's why more people don't do it, and those who do don't do it for long. It's ****ing horrible. It burns you out. Fast. It's easy to talk about the problem, so that's what people do instead of making a difference.
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

Pleased with it? Of course not. I've been active in trying to lower it by providing therapy to at-risk youths in the past. I want it lower, of course, but I also want an honest portrayal of what goes on here. There are many cities which are far more dangerous.



Exactly. And when partisan bull**** like gun control/anti-gun control dominates the discussion, no solutions are ever going to be found. That's one of the big reasons why I am so adamantly opposed to the misportrayals of Chicago. they are employed by both sides to promote pure bull****.

I've personally taken action and have tried to have a direct effect on the issue. I'm but one man, and can only do so much. If everyone who was "outraged" by these things actually did something directly, instead of this tangential bull**** we see from politicians for scoring political points, the problem would be solved.

Carrying guns isn't going to lower our murder rate, nor is banning them going to do **** to lower it. Educating people, going out into those "no go" neighborhoods and being the change is going to make a ****ing difference. I've done it. It's not hard.




Most of them happen in the poorest neighborhoods in this city. It's only going to get addressed when people slap on some balls and go out there and make a difference, leading by example, and doing something. That starts with recognizing the real problems (rather than all of the bull**** that gets talked about) and becoming willing to provide the example which children in these areas can emulate. Help them with school. Show them that they can do it.

The thing is, it's ****ing HARD. You grow to really like the kids you work with and the sad truth is that you won't be able to help them all. Some will have too much bull**** at home or on their street to overcome. Some will end up dead or in jail before they are 25. It sucks. It's painful to allow yourself to care about them. To realize that they aren't "thugs" or "savages", but that they all start off as cute little kids who are in an incredibly ****ed up and unfair environment.

And that's why more people don't do it, and those who do don't do it for long. It's ****ing horrible. It burns you out. Fast. It's easy to talk about the problem, so that's what people do instead of making a difference.

Good reply.

Disarming law abiding citizens will not make criminals disarm. It only creates more victims.
Doesn't chicago, for instance, have strict gun laws?
Unfortunately criminals, by definition of the word, don't tend to obey the law.

Yes..we must educate and discourage and promote stable homes and discuss and set examples and provide therapy and counseling and abolish poverty :roll: and ...etc...etc...

The best way to protect yourself is to arm yourself ....until that day far off in the misty future when humans are all peaceful and benevolent and mental illness and envy and jealousy and crime cease to exist and everyone has the same amount of money and everyone gets free lollypops and balloons and pony rides.

Meantime, humans being flawed and imperfect, are going to continue to commit crime.


Legally carrying WILL lower crime and it wouldn't really take very long. Criminals will learn that it might not be safe to attack random people after a few of them get dropped.
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

Good reply.

Disarming law abiding citizens will not make criminals disarm. It only creates more victims.
Doesn't chicago, for instance, have strict gun laws?
Unfortunately criminals, by definition of the word, don't tend to obey the law.

Yes..we must educate and discourage and promote stable homes and discuss and set examples and provide therapy and counseling and abolish poverty :roll: and ...etc...etc...

The best way to protect yourself is to arm yourself ....until that day far off in the misty future when humans are all peaceful and benevolent and mental illness and envy and jealousy and crime cease to exist and everyone has the same amount of money and everyone gets free lollypops and balloons and pony rides.

Meantime, humans being flawed and imperfect, are going to continue to commit crime.


Legally carrying WILL lower crime and it wouldn't really take very long. Criminals will learn that it might not be safe to attack random people after a few of them get dropped.

Chicago's gun laws are, generally speaking, retarded. But that doesn't create our problems any more than the stupid laws fix them. The gun laws have no effect on crime in any direction. The only purpose these laws serve is to allow the people unwilling to put forth real effort the ability grasp onto the warm and fuzzy mythological belief that they "made a difference".

Law-abiding citizens should be allowed to carry. Not because it will lower crime but because it gives people a chance to defend themselves. It won't lower crime in any meaningful way, but it might prevent some murders (or at least make the one who would have done the killing become the one who is killed).

The reason it won't lower crime is because the people attacked here are not "random" people. They are almost always gang bangers who are being shot at. It's the other people in the area who usually get hit, but the people being shot at are usually the exact opposite of random. That's why carrying won't lower crime rates around here in any meaningful way. If you are the innocent bystander who gets hit, you won't have much of an opportunity to defend yourself.

Legal carry will merely provide a certain degree of individual protection for the occasional random crime that does occur. Women are more likely to be targeted in such random crime, so they are the people who should be doing the most carrying.

And, for the record, the best way to protect yourself is to keep your head on a swivel and knowing what's happening around you. In the event that that approach fails, the next best thing is being prepared to defend yourself.
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

My pragmatic choices have been made based on life experiences, too, and I'll flat-out guarantee you I'm more likely to be struck by lightening while pissing on a pine tree than I am to be shot at. I'm 59 years old and I've seen real-live handguns twice in my life. I've hunted since I was 16 and never had a round in the chamber unless I was ready to shoot. And I never felt fear anywhere, any time of night.
Maybe I'd be different if I lived where you do. Probably I'd have bugged out long ago.


As I said, I don't know where you live. I have a Canadian friend who literally lives way back in the woods in a low-population area well away from anything that might be called a city, and he could probably literally say that he is in more danger from bears than from any human. Most people however, can't say that.

Personally, I live in a semi-rural area, on the edge between suburbia and farmland; though I work in town and spend considerable time in high-risk areas there. My semi-rural area is one where, for a long time, people tended to feel safe; twenty years ago many didn't bother locking their doors even at night. Unfortunately that changed; we have an Interstate highway running nearby and everything comes up and down it... also we get a different character of people moving out here in recent years than was once the case (20 years ago, everyone knew everyone and half were related to some degree, lol).

In recent years we've had a rash of thefts out of yards, barns and outbuildings. We had one homeowner shoot a daytime burglar about 300y from where I live.

Two years ago, we had a serial killer on a hot streak attack our neighborhood. He would approach people at home about buying hay or produce or whatever, then murder them. Among his first victims were a friend of the family I've known for decades and his daughter. He killed five times before being caught. It was a terrible shock to those in this area who felt it was a safe area.

When I'm not in town, the odds of being targeted for violence by a criminal may still be statistically long odds... but as I've said, that is no comfort to the person (or their family) who actually "wins the lottery" and gets attacked, and the consequences can be life-changing or life-ending.

Given that, and my LE experience which showed me how extreme violence is more common that most people think and the consequences often most severe, I choose to be aware and prepared for such an occurrence, even if it is a less-than-probable event.

To each his own... we make our choices, and we live with the results of same.
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

Chicago's gun laws are, generally speaking, retarded. But that doesn't create our problems any more than the stupid laws fix them. The gun laws have no effect on crime in any direction. The only purpose these laws serve is to allow the people unwilling to put forth real effort the ability grasp onto the warm and fuzzy mythological belief that they "made a difference".

Law-abiding citizens should be allowed to carry. Not because it will lower crime but because it gives people a chance to defend themselves. It won't lower crime in any meaningful way, but it might prevent some murders (or at least make the one who would have done the killing become the one who is killed).

The reason it won't lower crime is because the people attacked here are not "random" people. They are almost always gang bangers who are being shot at. It's the other people in the area who usually get hit, but the people being shot at are usually the exact opposite of random. That's why carrying won't lower crime rates around here in any meaningful way. If you are the innocent bystander who gets hit, you won't have much of an opportunity to defend yourself.

Legal carry will merely provide a certain degree of individual protection for the occasional random crime that does occur. Women are more likely to be targeted in such random crime, so they are the people who should be doing the most carrying.

And, for the record, the best way to protect yourself is to keep your head on a swivel and knowing what's happening around you. In the event that that approach fails, the next best thing is being prepared to defend yourself.

one murder of an innocent person by a criminal is too many..but as I said, humans are flawed and murder will ALWAYS occur...but if everyone who was legal carried, I still believe criminals who DO prey on those other than gang members..carjacking, robbery, etc...will be deterred if a few of them get dropped.
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

Chicago's crime has been greatly exaggerated by the partisan idiots in the media (We're on pace for the lowest murder rate in this city since the 1960's and crime is WAY down). Please don't perpetrate the nonsense by making a comparison to Somalia as this kind of nonsense undermines an intelligent discussion about guns.


Wasn't intended that way... I was actually trying to bring the comparisons back from a ridiculous extreme (Somalia) to something domestic and a bit more relevant (Chicago).
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

Chicago's gun laws are, generally speaking, retarded. But that doesn't create our problems any more than the stupid laws fix them. The gun laws have no effect on crime in any direction. The only purpose these laws serve is to allow the people unwilling to put forth real effort the ability grasp onto the warm and fuzzy mythological belief that they "made a difference".

Law-abiding citizens should be allowed to carry. Not because it will lower crime but because it gives people a chance to defend themselves. It won't lower crime in any meaningful way, but it might prevent some murders (or at least make the one who would have done the killing become the one who is killed).

The reason it won't lower crime is because the people attacked here are not "random" people. They are almost always gang bangers who are being shot at. It's the other people in the area who usually get hit, but the people being shot at are usually the exact opposite of random. That's why carrying won't lower crime rates around here in any meaningful way. If you are the innocent bystander who gets hit, you won't have much of an opportunity to defend yourself.

Legal carry will merely provide a certain degree of individual protection for the occasional random crime that does occur. Women are more likely to be targeted in such random crime, so they are the people who should be doing the most carrying.

And, for the record, the best way to protect yourself is to keep your head on a swivel and knowing what's happening around you. In the event that that approach fails, the next best thing is being prepared to defend yourself.


No argument there, really. I've said before: all effective self-defense begins with Awareness and a ready mindset.


Awareness/mental readiness is the sine qua non of self-defense: "without this, ya got nothing."
 
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Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

Wasn't intended that way... I was actually trying to bring the comparisons back from a ridiculous extreme (Somalia) to something domestic and a bit more relevant (Chicago).

Fair enough. I'm a little defensive of my city because it's been getting **** on so much lately. :lol:
 
Re: Do you carry one in the chamber?

Fair enough. I'm a little defensive of my city because it's been getting **** on so much lately. :lol:



I understand; I'm that way about the South. :)
 
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