Quote: Vector
"I will address other specific comments regarding my stance on when to carry based on a potential threat. However let my generally point out the obvious, that some places are safer than others. So if I am going to a maternity ward in a hospital, the potential need for deadly force to protect myself is significantly lower than that of walking into a pawn shop in the middle of the ghetto. You do not need a crystal ball to differentiate between the two."
Your feeling of safety is entirely without data or consideration. My wife works in a large city hospital and the most dangerous part of the hospital is the maternity ward. (She had data to back it up) Apparently, there are big issues between women and often men (but mostly women) about who the father is, the color of the child, who is sleeping with who etcetera.
Vector, you are wrapping yourself into a baseless determination of what you think is safe. You do not know these places to be safe, you are assuming that they are. In fact, no place on this planet is so safe that one would never have to be concerned about their own safety. You are also attempting to condescend to other that do not share your world view, which I do not appreciate. Many of them may not understand what you are looking to achieve with this thread.
You are looking to assuage your own concerns by being able to label others as paranoid or unreasonable. After all, you decide what is safe and what is not. You want to be able to think that you are indeed taking the intellectual high road through your own flawed logic. You are wrong.
I carry everywhere I go, as long as it is not prohibited by law. Here in Pennsylvania that means I can carry in hospitals, banks, bars, supermarkets, public transit, sushi restaurants and anywhere else not prohibited. Why? Because everywhere I go I am responsible for my own safety and security. I am ultimately responsible for my safety, and thus I am responsible for it. In no situation can I delegate that responsibility to another with any type of warranty.
Where to carry is entirely up to you, and as an individual I support your right to make that choice. The decision to carry a firearm is highly personal. You have no right to judge the decisions of others concerning when and how they carry, it is their business.
I take great issue with the flawed logic of "sometimes carry" based on the presumption of risk. As many have stated before, why go where it is perceived to be risky to life and limb. That is the rub, we never know where we will face life and death or when. How many people think on a daily basis that the school they are teaching or studying in will be the location of the next mass murder spree? None of us know. To be trained and proficient with a firearm and not have one (let alone needing one at a certain point) is a tremendous waste of an ability. If you do not carry all of the time you are at risk for the rarity of violent crime... that is your risk. (Having a firearm will not assure complete success in any violent situation, but it helps)
