Snakes are out

[ChrisJones 7,973]

On 03/02/2021 at 15:29, Alsone said:

As for handguns etc, a lot of US crime is down to poor vetting and no safe keeping. Leave a gun ina  drawer and of course a burglar or disaffected teenager cna get their hands on it. In a safe or combi-locked holster, it's becomes much harder for it to be misused. I won't touch on self defence other than to say with proper vetting based on no convictions etc I don't see why it would increase general public risk.

Personal opinion. From what I see in America there's a pretty big split on firearms incidents and overall safety. I'm lucky enough to live in a state where the 2A is pretty much untouchable (we've just voted to overturn the rule that requires a permit for concealed carry.) I've been able to have my lads shooting at a really young age. In my previous job I had a minor role as a firearms instructor and I've taught my lads the safety and respect aspect from day one. I certainly wouldn't have any issues with any of them handling firearms from what I've seen.

In other states, where the rules are far more draconian from an American perspective, they don't have that capability or even the inclination. Guns are bad and the only exposure seems to be from Hollywood and games consoles. Interestingly these states also seem to have a disproportionate amount of gun crime.

Annually there are between 30,000-40,000 gun deaths in the US. I believe the most recent statistics are 12 per 100,000 people. Two thirds are suicides and remaining third is stacked heavily with organized criminal gang activity.

There are hundreds of millions of guns in circulation in the US. Pandemic and election season have seen record busting purchases of firearms in the tens of millions. There are literally trillions of rounds of ammunition in circulation also. If legal shooters were a problem in America there's no way even the most conservative spin machine could hide that. Basically you'd know about it!

[ChrisJones 7,973]

With the new forum update I can't upload pictures for some reason but we get a few rattlers in the summer. My neighbours have chickens. Chickens attract mice and mice attract snakes. I've had fewer incidents since I removed a lot of the harbourage but it's still a concern as I have four dogs and a rattler bite could be fatal to them. Thousands in vets bills at best.

We get massive swings in temperature here in the mountains. Today we're expecting well below freezing temperatures and another winter storm is expected to roll through today and tomorrow. Summer it hits triple digits and snake boots, while you're out and about, are mandatory PPE in snake country!

[dytkos 17,536]

24 minutes ago, ChrisJones said:

Personal opinion. From what I see in America there's a pretty big split on firearms incidents and overall safety. I'm lucky enough to live in a state where the 2A is pretty much untouchable (we've just voted to overturn the rule that requires a permit for concealed carry.) I've been able to have my lads shooting at a really young age. In my previous job I had a minor role as a firearms instructor and I've taught my lads the safety and respect aspect from day one. I certainly wouldn't have any issues with any of them handling firearms from what I've seen.

In other states, where the rules are far more draconian from an American perspective, they don't have that capability or even the inclination. Guns are bad and the only exposure seems to be from Hollywood and games consoles. Interestingly these states also seem to have a disproportionate amount of gun crime.

Annually there are between 30,000-40,000 gun deaths in the US. I believe the most recent statistics are 12 per 100,000 people. Two thirds are suicides and remaining third is stacked heavily with organized criminal gang activity.

There are hundreds of millions of guns in circulation in the US. Pandemic and election season have seen record busting purchases of firearms in the tens of millions. There are literally trillions of rounds of ammunition in circulation also. If legal shooters were a problem in America there's no way even the most conservative spin machine could hide that. Basically you'd know about it!

How's the retirement/ new job going mate?

Cheers, D.

[ChrisJones 7,973]

27 minutes ago, dytkos said:

How's the retirement/ new job going mate?

Cheers, D.

This 40 hour a week lark is great! I'm practically a part timer!

I'm sure when the novelty wears off the wife will be sick of me being in all the time!

[Alsone 789]

I must admit Chris, I see at lot of the US's problemns stemming not from ownership but inadequate background checks and in the majority, lack of firearm security. You get guns in criminals hands often through theft and that's where having them openly available unsecured in homes becomes a problem. That's also how disaffected and bullied teenagers get access to carry out school shootings. Nearly all the school shootings I've heard of involving students involve theft of mum or dad's gun. I personally, think better background checks and proper firearm security would go a long way to reducing incidents in the US, although with the numbers of stolen weapons in circulation, criminality might remain a much bigger problem for a very long time.

Edited February 14, 2021 by Alsone