I'm not more likely to "operate" my deadly weapon even I'm "piss drunk". Are you?
I don't consume alcohol, and I WISH I could even have a deadly weapon to begin with!
Laws here are hardcore anti-gun. Sports and hunting only, under strict licensing. I wrote a post about myself and gun views in this country, have a look here -
http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=5755683&postcount=4084 (it's in the introduction).
I know what you are trying to say - you think you probably wouldn't ever be any more violent or reckless with firearms when under the influence of certain mind altering substances, and you may well be correct about that assumption,
but not everyone is like you. People react varyingly to alcohol. People I know become aggressive and violent - thankfully most had the self-control and self-insight to simply stop drinking completely. Others don't have the insight or lack the self-control. They may abuse alcohol, suffer from varying degrees of mental illness (common). One acquintance suddenly attacked another friend after having had a dinner with some alcohol. He had started suffering from paranoia and I guess the alcohol made him unable to restrain his impulses to act on his unreasonable emotions. He believed his friend had tried to slight him during the dinner. Another friend's brothers (one of which is an alcoholic and cocaine addict, frequently hangs in bars and likes guns) had started hallucinating after a good bout of alcohol intake, seeing everyone around himself as aggressive, and he was going to 'defend' himself. Thankfully no one was hurt.
From what I've read of the experience of states where bar carry is allowed - drunks shooting off guns is not a problem.
You're worried about the drunks who do shoot guns in and around bars - and rightly so. But THOSE folks are the "homicidal maniacs" who are going to do bad things wherever they go - REGARDLESS of the law.
People are not merely either homicidal maniacs or law abiding citizens. Mind altering substances tend to change people's personalities, and in most of us it can make us do things we would not have done otherwise. People are complex and changing. Some are mentally unstable and may at some point or another be pushed over the edge, often in combination with mind alterning substances and personal setbacks. This despite otherwise wanting to be and mostly being stand-up good people. On another note, I am happy to hear that they think it's not a problem, however that may mean.
More legal restrictions for law-abiding citizens don't make us safer.
I want to make it clear that I like the idea of concealed carry, in public places. I generally agree with you, but what is 'law-abiding' depends on what the law happens to be at one time or another. Being not law-abiding if the laws are illogical and stupid is hardly unethical. It does make the person a criminal, but not all criminals are bad either.
I think you are wrong in your statement that restrictions exclusively never make anyone safer. There are many cases where that does help. There are endless amount of laws that regulate and restrict dangerous behaviour, materials, risky behaviours etc. A simple one would be prohibiting operating heavy machinery (including cars) under the influence of drugs that are likely to impair their ability to do so safely. One can be only of good intent, and go driving under the influence, and still end up with a very bad outcome.
I want to make it clear that I like concealed carry, especially in public (such as schools). And meanwhile I don't support mixing drugs and guns, in public. At home, ok. I do not think it is a problem to have people in public, even around other drunks, carrying concealed, as long as they refrain from consuming themselves. If the laws could somehow make the distinction (and I believe it even does?
)
I would appreciate it if those who are all for more gun restrictions would provide one shred of credible evidence that less restrictions result in more criminal violence - or that more restrictions result in less criminal violence.
The general line of thinking, for me at least, is that when people cross the line and become aggressive and what not, for any reason, they'll use the weapons they have at their disposal. It is an impulsive act of passion, after all. Alcohol is well known to make some types of people much more aggressive than usual and impair their judgement. It is better to have them try to start trouble with a melee weapon or unarmed than with an autoloading firearm.
Hmm, been in bars many times over the years, and not everyone in sight got drunk. No, not by a long shot. Must be a Swedish thing. Just kidding, but really, over here, people sometimes go out for a drink, and that's it.
Getting piss drunk is a Swedish thing, you were right! Scandinavian thing actually.. Never the less, of course many just go past a pub, have a beer and get going. I'm not worried about those people. But how to seperate them from those who have more than a beer, who are severely depressed, perhaps narcissistic or feeling paranoid, and don't handle alcohol well?
One way could be to have the pubs decide for themselves what to do. They can invite everyone armed, and any customer comfortable with that can just step right in. No one is forced to attend bars. Or they can have whatever restrictions on firearms they feel like.
