[Bewolf]

Originally Posted by Sternjaeger II

The first thing you're taught when handling a firearm is that you don't have to draw it out at any given occasion, if you do is only because you need to use it.

IF you are taught to begin with. That means you have been part of a shooters club, are a hunter, working with the police or have another special reason for having training. But we are talking free gun ownership here, with every redneck able to go to the gun store here.

You dealt with a small thug, plain and simple, and the only thing you could have done is disarm him (Krav Maga is one of the finest forms of self defence for this), and as much as he might have felt strong behind his gun (provided it was real), you did the right thing.
The point is that if he had the doubt that you, your friends or anybody around you could have been armed, he would have thought twice before drawing his gun out.
Only fools and thugs draw pistols out to attack, good guys always use them in defence.

Certainly I did the right thing, it is not that there were a lot of alternatives. I am not the backing down kinda guy, especially when people try to force me into anything.

But no, I do not buy your theory. If that were so, gun crime in the US would not be as high as it is. Or in any other country with high gun crime. Reality just does not support your point. All it does is making people more agressive and tense in general.

that is true, but it's also true that there are weaker people like women and elderly that could benefit from the "strength" of a gun. You understand what I mean? I don't think it's nice, but either you play the card of denial and accept that the violent society might strike you at some point, or you cope with it and give yourself a chance.

Stern, can you really imagine an old lady pulling a gun and pull the trigger? Do you even want to imagine it being nessecary that an old lady has to carry a gun in the first place? I have a completly different image of the eldery and I myself intend to carry some sweets to give away instead of a gun, that is a given (and that the mental image coming up with this immidiatly connects with pedophiles is another sad marker for society these days).

I know, it still remains though that the coward had a mean of being superior to you, and if he was on drugs or had nothing to lose you could have died there and then, and there's no trial, death penalty or apology that would resuscitate you. In Italy we say "It's better to have a bad trial than a good funeral"...

He was the exception, however. That happend only once in my life and I dealt with all kind of people since then. And I like that to stay that exception.

I am not talking the concrete situation here. That means, yes, I may find myself in a situation that would cause me to wish I had a gun. And yes, it also means close friends, relatives, maybe even future children could be killed.
But chances for that, at least over here, are lower then the chance to die in a car crash.
If everybody has a gun, then I "might" be able to defend myself, but chances to get into the situation in the first place rise expotentially with that. This means you get into a state of mind of constant siege.
I mean I am not putting on a full body kevlar vest for fear of being hit by a car, either. And I doubt you are.

I live in a society that prohibits the ownership of most handguns, but this doesn't make me feel any safer, gangs and thugs are more aggressive here, and in two different situations I had to thank my Krav Maga training (once in London and once in Liverpool).
People tend to avoid bothering me cos I'm quite a big bloke, but it happened that three or four black teens came at me with a knife demanding my wallet and watch. In a way you're right, psychology is very important (they're often more scared than you). I simply said "oh is that all you have? You're gonna need something bigger with me mate"...
I dunno where it came out from, probably because my brain was confident enough to assess the situation and know I would have got away with the situation if the S**t hit the fan.

That probably works more often then folks might realize. You hit it here, these guys are more scared then you are. Espeically when they appear in groups it's often some bravery ritual. Just give them a bit of confidence and their world crumbles. Just supports my theory that gun advocados (obviously not you) actually have an Ego problem if they think they can't deal with these situation the old fashioned way.

The first time (in London) the guy actually came too close for comfort, and I disarmed him (his arm made a horrible snapping sound when I twisted it), the second time (in Liverpool, it was 3 white druggies), they simply turned around and fled..

I didn't need a gun and had I had one I wouldn't have pulled it out, because the situation didn't require it, that's the difference.

And I compliment you for acting this way. What also makes me wonder that you feel the need to carry a gun in the first place.

All that said, I will repeat what I said earlier. When you have to face somebody serious with a gun, you hardly will have the possebility nor the time to get your own. These folks shoot first and ask for money later. There won't be a high noon like situation.

When old ladies need a gun in their daily lives, I think we can agree that this is a society that has already sunken into the drain.

Guns won't make guns redundant. They quanify. And that means bigger chances a gun will find it's way into the wrong hands.

Guns are there for killing. When you have a gun, then it is quite obviousy that you are ready and willing to kill. I yet have to find the point in time when this became a positive attitude to have in the first place.