Do you think that allowing gun owners to carry their guns in public places makes these places safer or less safe?

Question

32% of adults in the USA say they personally own a gun. A still larger percentage, 44%, say they live in a house with a gun.

An estimated 6 million American adults carried a loaded handgun with them daily in 2019, double the number who said they carried a gun every day in 2015 (study published in the American Journal of Public Health).

Even if there is a constitutional right to carry a handgun for self-defense (not hunting or recreation), do you think that carrying a loaded gun in public makes it safer? I'm inclined to say the exact opposite.

Levin · Accepted Answer

This is quite a complicated issue. In the UK there is generally a positive correlation between population density and violence. ie in inner city areas generally they suffer from more deprivation and socio-economic issues. I would have to say, I feel very safe in suburban and rural areas of the UK. The problem with gun ownership, is any fruitloop who flips a switch in the heat of the moment, can kill someone. Whereas, such a thing would be sorted with fists here. Of course, the UK is becoming increasingly stabby. Society is becoming increasingly fractured. Those socio-economic issues are very important. As if the sense of injustice in society, which starts at the top. Many teachers that I work with report a real decline in behaviour since covid.

Historically, the UK had the balance right, with a present state but one that did not particularly interfere in the day to day matters of the population. Sadly, we are becoming increasingly authoritarian and there is just a general sense of sickness in the air. Mass migration, in my opinion, has added to that sense of a fractured society, a lack of fairness and safety.

WonderingManII · Accepted Answer

John 3:20 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.

They say that one of the reasons why the Linux OSes are more secure than Windows is the fact that it is opensource, and therefor there is more eyes on the code. Yes a bad person could easily put in malware or something else that is bad, but if they try it someone will find it and take it out. This has been documented as fact.

Now for the Gun issue. If you take away people's guns, the only people left who will have them are the bad guys. Why? Because the bad guys don't care about the law, they do what they want! What do they want to do? Hurt people! Therefor the more people who carry guns turns things into majority rules. If the majority of people doesn't want to get hurt, and one person does want to hurt someone, they all can get out their guns and stop that one bad person.

Its like that opensource idea for security. The majority decides if something bad will happen or not. The power is in the hands of the people.

sage2021 · Accepted Answer

Anymore a person needs to be a carrier. For us that have a rather large purse, they fit really well in there.
I was told not to use a small handgun if I shoot someone because it would only just get them pissed off at me, and I don't want that.
Yes, carry your gun and protect you and those around you. But please use something bigger than a handgun 🔫

purplepoppy · Accepted Answer

If guns made America safe why does it have one of the worlds highest murder rate? Sure you can cherry pick the occasional example where a law obeying citizen stopped an axe maniac but they're the exception rather than the rule. Most of the time those guns just get used to kill people over minor shit like parking spaces.

Lliam · Answer

I think concealed carry makes people and places safer. It certainly hasn't proven to make society less safe.
I'm not a fan of open carry, though, because it frightens people and also makes the carrier a target for assault.

There are over 330 million citizens and around 450 million people in the country at any one time.
It is estimated that over 80 million Americans own firearms.
In 2019, about 16 million adults, or roughly a third of handgun owners, said they carried a handgun in public at least once a month.
Women are a rapidly growing demographic for carrying concealed and training at shooting ranges.

The number of gun related homicides hovered between 14,000 and 16,000 for years, but rose to around 20,000 per year after covid in 2020.
But, keep in mind that twice that many people die from accidental falls, accidental poisoning, or vehicular deaths every year. And there are 25 times more fatal hospital errors than firearm homicides. Those deaths aren't publicized.

The FBI says that 80% of firearm homicides are gang related. So, out of 20,000 homicides, 4,000 are not gang related. And of those 4,000 homicides, most were non-gang related robberies or assaults by criminals. So it's not like 80 million gun owners and over 16 million who carry firearms in pubic are going around shooting people for petty reasons.

Something that "gun control" proponent try to deny or ignore are cases of DGU (defensive gun use). The most conservative honest estimate is well over 100,000 per year, and other estimates are over 3 million.
Few of those result in shots fired and very few result in injury or death. And I can't think of a case of collateral injury.
So how many rapes, robberies, assaults and murders were prevented by people who had the means to defend themselves?

Danny_dan92 · Answer

Put yourself in the shoes of criminals/bad people.

If it’s well known around a community or city or whatever that most if not all of the people out and about are armed with a gun… what’s the probability you’ll try to commit crime?

Very very low.

Case in point. The most common setting where we had mass shootings, were schools. Why? Schools are soft targets. Criminals think like terrorists. They will only act when there is much greater reward vs. risk.

DryGermanGuy · Answer

Of course it makes places unsafer, every statistic proves it (tens of thousands of gun deaths in the United States). My often-quoted example is an escalating dispute about a parking space - both guys are armed, both guys shoot, both guys die. Two families lost their breadwinner. In my country they might have punched each other, or called the police on each other. I also saw a video of police offers shooting into their own car, because they thought a detained man still had a gun and would shoot at them. Granted, these were especially incompetent cops, but practically every street cop is always on edge with the existing gun culture, it's just madness.

TheorionMage · Answer

I AM a long-time firearms owner/ previous NFA FFL, licensed to own fully-automatic firearm. I have been a municipal police officer, a veteran.  I am legally licensed to carry concealed.  Most occasions MY guns remain home in my safe. A firearm competently wielded, is a real & psychological 'force multiplier' tool.  It both fuels and destroys would-be fantasies. As with ANY potentially injurious tool, ALL is in HOW it is 'used',  when and where... and to what irrevocable ends.  'Allowed' or not, .. . societal permission-to-carry... is largely a soothing societal fiction.  Fact IS...  'open carry' is dissuaded to curb anti-social egotistical. vigilantism.   Under dire circumstance,  could you... WOULD you... take the first potentially-killing shot... to spare another innocent's life?   THIS isn't TV or the movies~

strateguy632 · Answer

1, safer because... Until cops come, me and others will stop or end the crime interrupted... 2, If law forbade, do laws stop criminals? Do criminals obey laws? Are the crimes done by people with gun license, 3, the fuss is just a liberal agenda to make crime easier.

In reference to school shootings if some teachers had guns and heard the rapid fire, some could stop the crime quickly, instead waiting for cops. we Have cops in high schools so school shooting is younger... so teachers need.

Syntosi · Answer

No. First of all, there will always be conflict in a society but what usually results in a minor altercation could easily be scaled up to people getting shot and killed if one or both sides were armed. Furthermore, armed civilians do not have law enforcement training which means they both make bad decisions which gets more people killed and if they were to arrive at a situation where two people are shooting at each other or whatever then they won't know which side is being attacked and which one is the victim, if any are. In other words, the violence might just spread to more and more people thinking they are shooting the bad guys when in reality they are just shooting each other or even the victim needing help.

If this was a cartoon then it would be funny. Sadly we do not live in a cartoon and this is just a tragedy waiting to happen.

Anonymous · Answer

The people who have concealed carry permits and legally carry guns in public are NOT the people committing murders and other violent crimes with guns. If you take away the legal right to carry a gun, the people committing gun crimes will still have guns. I don't know what is so difficult for some people to understand about that.

In short... yes, law abiding citizens legally carrying guns makes public places safer. I understand that makes those of you who are squeamish about or don't understand guns uncomfortable. But don't worry about it, we may save your ass someday.

DonaldDarko · Answer

It makes it safer, there are a few examples of this. A church shooting was stopped cold a few years back. I know of an incident at a grocery store where some loon had a weapon I think it was a manchette or something. He was about to get his revenge on the world but some girl snuck up behind him and put a round through is head. That's what should happen to these assholes that start throwing stuff off of the shelves too.

hahahmm · Answer

The way I know gun control supporters are full of it is that more people die in car accidents but they don't want to ban cars even tho car ownership isn't even a constitutionally protected right.

Also they always overlook the little detail that the government will always have guns and not all people in government are honest/just users of the power they have. But magically we're supposed to trust them enough that they can walk around with guns out but nobody else is allowed to? Nah.

WindAtMyBack · Answer

I think the average person carrying a gun makes very little difference one way or the other.

Having said that, the large number of guns in the US show just how safe they are. Looking at the numbers, there is a very STRONG correlation between gun owners who DON'T commit crimes with them, and a very WEAK correlation between gun owners who DO commit crimes with them.

Communicationisking · Answer

of those 6 million 5 million are probably cops or other law enforcement or so it seems. I haven't been to the US but everyone I know that goes there says that there is a lot of police presence, like over the top levels compared to other parts of the world

NaultD · Answer

I was a jury member on a self defense case. All I've got to say is unless you got a few million dollars to spend on lawyers you're going to lose.

It's very much a class divided subject with the upper class can open fire while lower class gets fucked.

BadApple69 · Answer

Statistically, a very small percentage of concealed carry permit holders commit crimes. Over a 15-year period, permit holders accounted for roughly 0.7% of all firearm-related homicides, according to The Heritage Foundation. Specifically, 801 firearm-related homicides were attributed to permit holders out of 18 million permit holders.

RingOfFire · Answer

Terrorist attacks and gun violence almost always occurs in locations where no one is allowed to have a gun to defend themselves and most frequently in cities and states with the most restrictive gun laws.

I've never heard of a murder taking place at a gun show.

bolverk · Answer

I'm a Brit, Lived in the US for 10 years, I carried daily for 9 of those years, some of the time open carrying where legal, with a CCW where needed.

Where ever open carry was the norm, people were unerringly polite, which back up the old saw 'An armed society is a polite society'. While carrying with a CCW I only drew my firearm twice, but never discharged a round the threat was enough.

FreyaRed · Answer

Yes, maybe it would increase security slightly in terms of quicker response to amok shooters. But this is like curing symptoms not the main cause. It's multicultural delusion and unfair resource and wealth distribution.

David318578 · Answer

For the most part safer. Criminals don't care about the legality of where they can or cannot bring their illegally obtained gun.

So setting up situations where only the bad guys have guns is a recipe for disaster

exitseven · Answer

I think that it makes them safer. The bad guys will think twice before making trouble. There undoubtedly some gun owners that would absolutely drop the hammer on some scum bag.

zagor · Answer

Most gun owners take the responsibility seriously. Unfortunately there are few over-reactive nuts who might use one in a road rage incident. And there is always the chance it could be stolen by someone not so responsible.

But I think carrying a gun should not be a major crime. You have the right to protect yourself.

wynning · Answer

It would increase individual security but not public security. On a wider scale, you'd only see the the consequences from the wrong uses of them and not the times they helped.

Miristheiss · Answer

I am really not that worried about all the legal gun owners out there.

You word that as if all the crime and shootings is the permit carrying, legal gun owners.

I don't even waste my time with the that type.

abc3643 · Answer

This isn't far from the truth where I live in the rural part of a red state. People shooting each other over the stupidest shit.

OneViewpoint · Answer

So first tell me who every gun totin bad guy stopper in that place is. Then tell me their background. Then tell me if they are drunk, high, or on anti depressants.

Then I’ll tell you whether that place is safer or not.

Anonymous · Answer

Yes. Remember the incident a few years ago where a violent mobbed chased a teenager through the streets and tried to beat him to death. Only that brave teen was armed hed have been a goner.

Anonymous · Answer

No because I moved abroad to a place where nobody has guns and it’s far safer than America. Everyone is less paranoid and we never have shootings. This is also backed by statistics and many of my personal experiences here. Americans really need to get over their personal biases and attachment to outdated policies. Maybe you like guns, that’s fine. But if you think if giving homeless crack addicts guns is a good idea your delusional

Shiprex · Answer

By the looks at statistics it suggests you aren't safer but that would be looking at the reality and not some kind of wishful thinking paranoid about others intentions kind of thing.

Anonymous · Answer

i'm still waiting for the universities that started allowing concealed or open carry to turn into the "wild west" as was the exact claim from the liberal, gun-fearing idiots. It simply hasn't happened despite their virtual guarantee soooo... I'm gonna have to say it's either safer or equally as safe as before. Certainly not less safe but someone can pull up some bs statistics I guess.

alice55 · Answer

Less safe if they want to make the country safer they should just deploy the army inside like they did in France in 2015 / 2016. This make it ways safer than random people carrying guns.

contentious · Answer

It's more safe for the person with the gun and less safe for the criminal that wants to do something to the person with the gun.

DrPepper12 · Answer

I'll defer to the actuaries, the people who are really really smart and actually get paid to assess risk objectively for the underwriters, and I'll say...  NO!!! It makes USA UNSAFER BY FAR!!!

AviatorTom · Answer

Carrying guns does not make a place safer, or less safe. There are other factors that determine how safe a place is.

spartan55 · Answer

That's why most mass shootings occur in 'gun free zones'. The psychos know they won't have a fight until the police arrive.

goaded · Answer

Oh, hell, no. Even a "good guy with a gun" who shot a shooter got shot by police! "Innocent until I pull the trigger" is an insane world.

Maybe_Maybe_not · Answer

If you want to look at the sensation of safety, ask people's opinion. If you want to look at safety in practice, ask statisticians?

captain_voidwalker · Answer

Safer for sure, everyone at my local cigar shop packs heat openly. No one is going to charge in there and start popping off

Anonymous · Answer

In the 1800s when everyone carried a gun and knew how to use it, the world was a much safer place. Generally, only the bad guys got shot or killed.

jshm2 · Answer

LOL, it would become like a video game. Where you shoot to kill and pickup guns and ammo from the bodies to continue the "game".

beenherebefore · Answer

I personally wouldn’t feel safe knowing or seeing that someone else apart from the police or security had a gun on them.

Anonymous · Answer

It wouldn't make trump safer. These people (s) security are going to have their hands full when sh*t hits the fan soon. And all of their own voters carry. No guns means nobody gets shot.

BonzoInBitburg · Answer

If you are in an area where you think you need a gun then you're not in a safe place.

Shy_Steve · Answer

I personally feel safer anywhere in Australia where i live than anywhere in America.

Dongie · Answer

Lliam Way to line that dickdawson out there. I enjoyed every syllable. 😅

SotiCoto · Answer

It works up until the point where someone actually decides to use it as more than a deterrant. Then all bets are off.

chocolatetwopointo · Answer

less safe. there's a reason america has the most school shootings.

ilistengood · Answer

Based on what? and don't feel like im challenging you , im just curious

Filthy_Immigrant · Answer

yeah as long as he is cool and isn't too trigger happy

seeyounexttuesday · Answer

Of course it makes the world safer. Do you feel safe in an airport? You're surrounded by people with guns.

soe11 · Answer

Yes I think so. On earth everyone lawless.

DCVsMarvel2 · Answer

I'll never understand why, people misinterpret the rules

beefcakebradybatson · Answer

Less safe, but we're talking the Yankee Yahoos !!!

Anonymous · Answer

After the national divorce I'll hand over my guns. But until then, liberals are the most dangerous animal.

Sunrising · Answer

Only if it's a water pistol.

Dargil · Answer

Incrementally safer

FunkyMonkee · Answer

Much safer if s/he's a good person.

Renegade_Sailor · Answer

I carry every day. 100% more safe.

michol123 · Answer

I feel less safe when I see strangers with guns.

Pterodon · Answer

I openly carry everyday and it’s more safe

RedInnocent69 · Answer

Much less safe. And stupid looking, frankly

shortster · Answer

Safer. Open carry should be allowed everywhere.

blackeagle007 · Answer

If the place of business is ok with it.

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