Carrying Weapons (on the golf course)

[jamo]

I don't, no. But baseball player Ty Cobb used to carry a gun at all times, including when he was batting and fielding. Just a random fact.

[Slammin' Sam]

Yes, but "the Georgia Peach" was also known to be a thin-skinned, vituperative hothead.

[max power]

yeah im not having a go or anything, i actually think America is awesome and i know there's a lot of violent crime over here, heck we just had a week of a guy in hiding with a sawn off shotgun after shooting his ex girlfriend, her new boyfriend and a policeman and then eventually shooting himself after an 8 hour stand off with the police, so i know we're far from perfect, id just feel paranoid going out knowing that anybody could have a lethal weapon on them at any time legally

I agree that psychologically it's slightly unnerving the first time you see someone carrying a gun, or realize that people are carrying guns. But it is just a tool, and if someone means you harm there are countless ways they can get the job done without a gun. Heck, cars are tremendously, exponentially more dangerous than guns, and we hand out permits and driver licenses to 15 and 16 year-olds (and 80 and 90 year-olds). Plus, the people legally carrying firearms are the least of your worries. All the gun laws in world don't stop a criminal from carrying a gun-they don't care about the law.

And I hope I didn't come across as attacking the U.K., just because I don't agree with that one aspect of your law. If I did, I apologize.

[6iron]

I bet the girl and her boyfriend wish they could have had a gun when the ex-boyfriend showed up.

[Hoovedawg]

Why would you be concerned about people being able to get guns legally? Over 90% of homicides are committed with ILLEGAL firearms. As it has been already stated, its not the legal ones that we need to worry about. Im 19 and have a shotgun, but its not like im a dangerous lunatic. I live on a farm and have been around guns my whole life. People like me are not the ones that are a problem.

Also, having been to europe several times, I can say without a doubt i feel far safer in the USA than i did there. To be completely honest, I feel safer in SE Washington DC (one of the more dangerous places in the country), near where i go to school, than I did in europe.

And besides the founding fathers of the USA put the Right to Bear Arms in the Bill of Rights to help protect the people of the country from big, tyranical, power-hungry, oppressive governments (1776 ringing any bells?) and thats seemed to work out pretty good for us.

[jamo]

Yes, but "the Georgia Peach" was also known to be a thin-skinned, vituperative hothead.

Yes, very much so. In modern days he would have easily been a clinical psychopath. But he was also an amazing baseball player (just look up his stats) and a very intelligent businessman. He invested in Coca-Cola before it got huge and he was set for life.

But, I digress....

[PooN]

I live in Wisconsin where we don't have the right to conceal carry. I would if I could, but I can't so I won't.

I played a course on Father's Day weekend down in the South side of Chicago where I would've felt a little more comfortable packing heat... Jackson Park GC. Very interesting indeed.

[lcfd42]

.32, .357 Mag., .357 Sig., .38, .380, 9mm., .40 S&W;, .44 Spl. and Mag. or .45 ACP (my personal favorite)
Choices! Choices! I'm glad I live in a state where I can choose what I want to carry and where I wan't to carry, on a course if I feel it necesary. The thing everyone must remember above all other things relative to self preservation is "DON'T TRUST ANYBODY". If you ever let your guard down, the entire US Army couldn't help you. That is why I support carry rights, the police are only useful after the fact.

[Fourputt]

no offence but its things like this that make me love it that im English and not American, id hate to have to carry a gun around to protect myself wherever i go, it'd be unthinkable to even contemplate that over here to be honest

For most sensible Americans it's equally inconceivable. I've lived in the west for more than 45 years, in Montana and Colorado. I've owned a number of rifles and handguns, but I've never felt any need to carry one unless I was going shooting. The sort of person who feels that he has to carry to feel safe is a tiny paranoid minority of the US population. Most of us have more sense than that.

[Hoovedawg]

i dont carry a weapon, and dont feel that i need too, but dont say act like they are a bunch of paranoid wackos. If someone wants to then more power to them. Most people who carry a gun are normal people who have faced a situation in their life before where they were threatened. Luke Scott, an outfielder for the Orioles was robbed (along with 3 teammated) at gunpoint. Now he carries a gun with him. Is he being an "unsensible paranoid wacko"? As I said before i dont carry a gun, but a majority of people that do have a good reason for doing so.

[senorchipotle]

funny enough, one of the courses which i play had a fence built because people were getting robbed. one of the old timers i played with carries a pistol with him.

[Shindig]

Even if I were halfway competent with firearms - I miss large targets with .22s - I can't figure out where I would put a gun in a golf bag such that I could get to it when I needed it. Still, as long as it's safely stored, I'm safer with no one (including criminals) knowing who has one. Of course, this being CA, we don't have concealed carry. But I wonder if a golf bag counts as concealed... moot point for me anyway.

Thankfully, the only robbery on the golf courses around here that I've heard about are putts lipping out. Routinely.

[max power]

Even if I were halfway competent with firearms - I miss large targets with .22s - I can't figure out where I would put a gun in a golf bag such that I could get to it when I needed it. Still, as long as it's safely stored, I'm safer with no one (including criminals) knowing who has one. Of course, this being CA, we don't have concealed carry. But I wonder if a golf bag counts as concealed... moot point for me anyway.

Funny thing is, CA

technically does allow concealed carry. But it's at the discretion of the local sheriff, so it's effectively a ban.

[senorchipotle]

no offence but its things like this that make me love it that im English and not American, id hate to have to carry a gun around to protect myself wherever i go, it'd be unthinkable to even contemplate that over here to be honest

well, it's not as if one is walking in downtown dallas and everyone's walking up to the saloon with his six shooter on his hip. fact is, there's very real danger in some places, just as it is in europe and elsewhere. criminals will always have guns no matter the law, so banning them is only going to keep law abiding citizens from the right to protect themselves. and what happens if the gov't decides they should become a totalitarian state? no gun=screwed.

[Comeback]

One of the same things that I like about being an American. I know I'll probably never need a gun, but I don't want or need someone or something else deciding that I can't have one. There's still plenty of violent crime in the U.K., but that's actually not the point. I'm a law-abiding citizen, and my ownership of a firearm doesn't increase crime.

+1 I carry when ever i can, even though i would probably never need it but it is there incase i do need it. An armed society is a safe society. And to mcfc_nick, England's crime rate went through the roof when guns were outlawed.

[Damien45]

For most sensible Americans it's equally inconceivable. I've lived in the west for more than 45 years, in Montana and Colorado. I've owned a number of rifles and handguns, but I've never felt any need to carry one unless I was going shooting. The sort of person who feels that he has to carry to feel safe is a tiny paranoid minority of the US population. Most of us have more sense than that.

Sadly, this is the largest part of the problem. Stereotyping the LEGALLY armed citizens. I am one such individual. I am licensed to carry in two seperate states. With these I can legally carry in 30+ states. I do not carry because I feel I need to. I do not advertise myself as a victim, nor do I put myself into places that increase my risks on a normal basis. I carry because there is always the chance that someone may need assistance. I am not just protecting myself, I am protecting all those around me.

An arm society is a polite society. This is a very true saying. Once a society is used to the fact that people are possibly carrying, people tend to not be rude and selfish.

[Titleist_ProV1x]

I used to play with a guy who got robbed on a golf course in Birmingham, Alabama. Some young boys jumped the fence and pulled a pistol on him and his partner. They both lost their wallets. After that he always carried a pistol in his golf bag.

I carry a 9mm Glock in mine with a 2nd clip, I don't feel the need to carry one, I know there is a need to carry one in this day and age, Lots of guys I know at the club carry one, it isn't a big deal imo

[acj990]

I carry one in my bag. My job allows me to carry everywhere, thanks to the United States Congress and HR-218. If something were to ever happen while I was golfing, to myself or someone else, I would rather have it with me than live with the guilt knowing I could have helped and did not have it.