The idea is that there’s a gun owner mentality that they’d rather be “judged by 12” (on the jury in their unlawful homicide case after defending themselves by shooting someone) than “carried by six” (pallbearers after a violent criminal took them out because they had no means of resisting).
Frankly, while I understand the basic premise behind the statement, I think I’d prefer to keep living somewhere where it’s highly unlikely to be an issue.
Ah. So a fair restatement would be “I carry a gun because it is better to stand trial for homicide than to be killed by a random criminal,” is that right?
Yes, that is a fair restatement. The premise is that you have to be alive to be charged with a crime, and given the nature of the crime that you will be charged with a jury may be sympathetic enough to exonerate you, which cannot happen if you’re dead.
To get a carry permit in New York City you pretty much have to be transporting diamonds*, so it’s not an issue. Having lived my whole life in a place where no one carries, however, I have no interest at all in doing so myself. If I’d grown up someplace else, I might well feel differently.
I carry my pistol openly on my hip. My pocketknife may or may not count concealed carry, depending on maximum blade length in a given jurisdiction and whether or not I’m wearing a shirt untucked or not.
Forgot to add to my previous post: Here in Minnesota the carry law was accompanied by a statute saying that owners of private property (like stores) have to post a sign at the door if they don’t want anyone carrying in their store. LOTS of places have opted to do this, making it inconvenient to carry unless you know you’re not going to stop anywhere that’s posted. Another reason I don’t carry outside of work.
My current neighborhood–the safest neighborhood in the second safest town in the United States by crime rate statistics–is close enough for me to not even feel the need to buy an 18" barrel for the ol’ Mossberg, let alone carry full-time.
I would be interested highly in the likely never existent statistics on how this actually affected the firearm density of the park.
Not knowing where you live or the licensing requirements to carry in general (as opposed to specifically in the park), I won’t comment on how the potential relative safety of the park has likely changed.
Another reason why I carry: While I may be killed at any time by somebody just shooting me at random,I can’t control that. But, if he wants to herd me into a locker with other people, he will have to shoot me at MY leisure, not at his.
I’m a cop so I can carry anywhere, anytime, and I do so. It would be extremely rare to find me without a gun on me.
I actually live in a very safe area. I would never expect to be a victim of a violent crime. However, I want to be ready in case that does happen or if I need to help someone else in danger.