OK, what the hell has happened to the Brits?

"Dan Luke" wrote in message
...

"Wdtabor" wrote:
It must be niced to be so sure of your superiority over your fellow
citizens.

I said many, not all. Are you telling me you don't feel your judgement
is superior to that of many of your fellow citizens? If so, how then do
you account for the fact that you hold political views that place you in
a minority?

I must point out that operating a car responsibly requires a great
deal more
skill and judgment than operating a handgun.

Requires it, maybe, but does it always get it?

Responsible use of a handgun simply requires leaving it in its holster
until
something so bad happens that anything you do with the gun will be
better.

Well, there's the rub, isn't it? Are we to assume that all gun toters
can judge such situations so nicely?

You might wish to know that civilian "gun toters" are about one SEVENTH as
likely to have a "bad shoot" than their "highly trained" brethren that tote
guns AND badges.

"Tom Sixkiller" wrote in message
...

"Dan Luke" wrote in message
...

"Wdtabor" wrote:
It must be niced to be so sure of your superiority over your fellow
citizens.

I said many, not all. Are you telling me you don't feel your judgement
is superior to that of many of your fellow citizens? If so, how then do
you account for the fact that you hold political views that place you in
a minority?

I must point out that operating a car responsibly requires a great
deal more
skill and judgment than operating a handgun.

Requires it, maybe, but does it always get it?

Responsible use of a handgun simply requires leaving it in its holster
until
something so bad happens that anything you do with the gun will be
better.

Well, there's the rub, isn't it? Are we to assume that all gun toters
can judge such situations so nicely?

You might wish to know that civilian "gun toters" are about one SEVENTH as
likely to have a "bad shoot" than their "highly trained" brethren that
tote
guns AND badges.

And you want to put these guys on planes? Madness

"Tom Sixkiller" wrote
You might wish to know that civilian "gun toters" are about one SEVENTH as
likely to have a "bad shoot" than their "highly trained" brethren that tote
guns AND badges.

That's an excellent point, and precisely the reason I don't care for
the idea of a special class carrying weapons in areas/situations where
the ordinary citizen may not. If airplanes are too dangerous for
weapons carrying, then they're too dangerous for anyone to carry a
weapon. Certainly if the PIC can't have one, then nobody can. The
argument that the air marshalls are "highly trained" does not impress
me, for the exact reason you cited.

This is a matter of survival and we're talking about survival
strategy, not politics. Politics are all about compromise; strategy
can't be. If you have two diametrically opposed stategies (for
example - everyone is armed, or no one is armed) either strategy may
be right. They may even BOTH be right. But a compromise solution
(only arming those who are "highly trained" for example) is guaranteed
to be wrong.

For extra credit, try to identify the political figure, author, and
aviator I am paraphrasing.

Michael