Where are the armed pilots?

What a sad way to live - basing decisions on probabilities of things
happening. Is that how you make all your decisions?
Also, how do you know the probability that someone is going to do something
in your presence that could be countered with a handgun? What statistics
are you using for that? I would like to see those. I would expect that
someone who is in the statistics business (as you claim) and who seems to
know something about handgun ownership, would know that there are a large
number of unreported crime due to deterrence by handguns.

For me, any probability that I can use a gun in my defense (or anyone
else's) is enough to deal with any "inconvenience" of being questioned by
others/police.

Thankfully you are wise enough to have acknowledge that other people have
the right to defend themselves. It is a shame that the control freaks in
government can't understand this as well.

"Geoffrey Barnes" wrote in message
ink.net...
I have to say that I am surprised at the number of people
who feel that they are careful enough to take to the air and
yet don't think they could carry a gun without accidentally
shooting someone.

Again, it's a matter of probabilities. It is very unlikely that I would
accidentally shoot someone. But it is almost infinitely LESS likely that
I
will encounter the next Mohammed Atta at a GA airport. Or, for that
matter,
that I will encounter anyone who is intent on breaking into my car. The
risk of me having a negative result from being armed at the airport is, at
least in my own life, far greater than the chance that I would do anything
good with a firearm when I am there.

By negative result, I don't just mean shooting someone accidentally.
Let's
say that somebody notices that I am armed and calls the cops. In fact,
let's HOPE that somebody notices that I'm armed and calls the cops.
That's
certainly what I would do if I saw someone who was carrying a gun on the
flight line. And for the sake of argument, let's say that I have the
legal
right to carry in whatever state I'm in at the time. I still am going to
have to deal with an initially very nervous police officer, produce
identification, explain myself, and probably get run through a database
someplace so the cop can verify my story. This is going to take upwards
of
45 minutes to an hour to sort out, and I'd rather spend that time flying,
especially if night, weather, or my own physical endurance is closing in.

I simply see more costs than benefits in carrying a loaded firearm past
the
fence and onto the flight line. Your mileage may vary, but I can't
conceive
on an instance when being my armed at the airport would have had any
benefits at all. But I can recognize any number of instances when there
would have been costs for being so equipped.

As you say, you are armed just about everywhere you go. I don't live my
life that way. I'm not saying that you are wrong for living life the way
you do. Why don't you grant me the same courtesy?