If someone walked into a bar in the 1400's carrying a sword in a scabbard, were they served? You bet your bippy.

Are swords more dangerous than a gun? Probably not overall, but in close quarters, I'd lay about even odds against normal people.

As far as open carry -- every stat should have it.

An armed society is a polite society.

I don't worry about law-abiding people having guns, and I don't think that gun control laws help keep guns from criminals (in the U.S., that's a done deal). I do think that unskilled people having guns is a problem. I'd be more interested in laws that demand a gun purchaser demonstrate proficiency with the weapon and its safe handling (or get training) than in background checks, concealed permits, etc. Someone who has shot a gun enough to be skilled with it knows how to handle it, knows what it can do, and isn't likely to be capricious with it. Which is exactly as it should be.

Someone who has shot a gun enough to be skilled with it knows how to handle it, knows what it can do, and isn't likely to be capricious with it.

Nope. They're probably as likely to be 'capricious' with it as they would have been otherwise. I can take you to ranges filled with yahoos who've shot their entire lives, and their gun handling would make your hair stand up. And honestly, we're not suffering from any significant number of capricious gun incidents, so I'm not sure why you see the need to impose training requirements and all the rest.

Sorry Christopher. The training/proficiency argument falls flat. One reason being what Minster said. Police being a sad example of that often enough-search for the video of the DEA agent who shot himself in the foot while in a classroom of kids. Said agent actually tried to sue the agency for letting that video get leaked to the press/net.

Another reason being, who makes the rules? We see that with various states "may issue" laws on concealed permits or just owning weapons like in Illinois and Mass.. Its up to the local sheriff's own feelings. No bias there I'm sure ever.

Vermont and Alaska have it right. Open/Concealed carry for all no permits needed.

Y'know, the sword in the conversation reminded me - popular notions about swordplay are just as bogus as the picture they get from the media about guns.

Just as having a gun doesn't really put you in charge of any scene or convey any other magical powers, the sword is not used as movies with Errol Flynn or the Pirates of the Caribbean would have you believe.

But the possession of either will tell you who's in the ruling class...

Annnd don't miss the Quiz!

I can take you to ranges filled with yahoos who've shot their entire lives, and their gun handling would make your hair stand up.

I've seen this, too. It's amazing. I had gun safety drilled into me from the time I first fired a .22 as a little kid; it becomes automatic pretty quickly. When I've gone shooting with friends, the only ones who've scared me are the ones who don't know what they're doing, but think they do.

Police being a sad example of that often enough-search for the video of the DEA agent who shot himself in the foot while in a classroom of kids.

I have seen that video. To me it demonstrates that the man didn't know what he was doing. My understanding is that police are often not especially well trained with their weapons and don't get a lot of time at the range.

Vermont and Alaska have it right. Open/Concealed carry for all no permits needed.

Maybe so. Both are very rural, sparsely populated states.I wonder the effect of such laws in a state with real urban areas. I'm not sure it's a bad idea, just kind of musing here.

"I wonder the effect of such laws in a state with real urban areas."

Well, note that the environment selects for the people who will live there. If you have to have a welfare check to live, you better be near the welfare office.

And in crowded areas, life is cheaper.

I lived in Alaska for 6 years. The city of Anchorage and Fairbanks are not sparsely populated... you know living there that pretty much everyone has a gun. or two. or five...
I never worried. . actually felt better knowing this. Was great.. you can buy guns up there at the grocery store.

"I'd be more interested in laws that demand a gun purchaser demonstrate proficiency with the weapon and its safe handling (or get training)"

My state requires a handgun safety course certificate, and we're not the only one that does. Although I felt a lot more competent after the intermediate course & some competitive shooting, than I did after that first class.

But it's legally too oppressive to require all that because the learning curve is different for each of us.

Regarding mandatory training. Physicians have to go through a significant training and licensing regimen, but thousands die from malpractice each year.

Everyone with a driver's license had to take a test, but from what I see each day on the highways convinces me that testing is largely worthless in guaranteeing proficiency or competence.

Off topic, but Jim P's note about swordplay reminded me of a scene from one of Robert Asprin's Myth books, where the main character (Skeeve) tries to enter a cross-dimensional McDonald's while carrying a sword, and gets the scabbard caught in the door...

What Melody said.

(I live in Anchorage, BTW)

Rub it in, guys....rub it in.

I live in Illinois. It doesn't get any more bass-ackwards than here.

Wisconsin is interesting. Concealed carry is currently illegal, but you can carry openly. However, if you do it in most municipalities, the police will arrest you for disturbing the peace. Following the law is disturbing the peace.

I live in Minnesota, a shall-issue state where you can get a permit to carry if you complete a class and pass a background check. One good side of this is that the class familiarizes you with the law. The circumstances under which you can use deadly force can vary greatly from state to state, so it's good to understand the laws of the state you're in.

A down-side is that it raises the cost. The permitting process can become a hurdle and some states use it that way, making the process as labor-intensive and expensive as possible to keep people from carrying firearms. To keep law-abiding people from carrying. The criminals don't bother with paperwork.

People in the carry community have started referring to laws like Alaska as 'constitutional carry'. I believe Arizona just passed a law allowing this and there are other states considering it. States like NY and CA are really the outliers when it comes to guns and civil rights.

If you wanna see a gun grabber's head asplode, educate them on the origins of gun control laws: anti-black racism in the reconstruction era.

Let the irony float around in their heads for a while. The cognitive dissonance is delicious.

I fully support the right for anyone and everyone who is sane, sober, and legally allowed to carry.

If I am carrying -- the weapon in my possession has at least 100 rounds downrange from me.

But if it is a weapon I have never touched before -- it stays pointed downrange until I am familiar enough to know how to drop the clip, and safe it.

I had a drunk friend show up at my place with a very small .22 semi in his pocket. It fell/was pulled out while he was looking for some cash in his pocket.

I took it from him, dumped the mag, and used a zip strip to secure it. He got the mag back the next day.

But then you have idiots saying that owning and carrying a gun leads to being a Vigilante. How much bull crap can you find in the post?

I thought it was the job of law enforcement to protect citizens, not vigilantes

What a tool, that right there show her mind set. Never mind that the job of police is to investigate crime and arrest perpetrators AFTER THE FACT. Appartnetly she is the world dumbest PHd, I thought it was common knowledge that the cops are not legally or civilly liable for failing to stopping a crime in progress.

Also for a woman bitching about the rule of law and the dangers of vigilantees, does this woman not have one freind in the world willing to pont out to her that Wyatt Earp WAS the very definition of a vigilantee?

The reason I was googling it in the first place -- IIRC they had made Tombstone a no-gun zone in the time frame. It didn't work.

Same as any prohibition scheme.