wrote...
I think that comparing auto deaths to guns deaths as it is being done
here is misleading. People in the US spend FAR more hours in their cars
than they do carrying guns. If you compared the deaths per hour of "use"
(have a gun on your person and driving or riding in a car) the
statistics would be MUCH different. Nobody gets killed by a gun
locked in a gun safe, just like no one gets killed by a (nonrunning) car
in a garage, but people take their car out of the garage much more often
than they take the gun out of its safe.

The comparison of cars to handguns is that there is a minority group
of people in each that are dangerous. Wouldn't it be fair to argue
that if you believe in doing away with concealed handguns because of
a few nuts, that you are just being hypocritical if you don't apply
the same logic and rationale to vehicles and dangerous drivers? If
you honestly mourn the deaths of whatever number of people are
killed with handguns (or whatever criteria it is that you are using)
and believe [concealed] handguns should be taken away, do you ignore
those killed in auto-accidents from DUI drivers, etc just because
you drive? What if I didn't like Golden Retrievers but loved
Chihuahuas, should I be allowed to tell you that you can no longer
own or breed them? They are a pretty useless dog..... (not really,
but just for the sake of argument ;-) Wouldn't you argue that there
is a use for Goldens even though *I* didn't think so? Wouldn't you
question why I found one type of dog to be useless while another
"useful"? Do you understand where I was headed and why I made the
comparison now?

I am not saying that we should relax current laws and let everyone
have a concealed weapons permit. I am not saying that everyone
needs or should get one either. I have absolutely no need for a
concealed weapons permit and doubt that I will ever need one. Some
people do find them "useful" even though they make *you* nervous.
They may find them to be necessary even though *you* don't. Some
people may even be required to carry one for a job (couriers for
example). I think the *option* to obtain one should remain and I
don't think that just because someone has one that they are a
paranoid gun nut.
--
Warren
(use troutbum_mt on either yahoo or earthlink to respond via email)