The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation issues all agents graduating from the FBI Academy a Glock 22 or Glock 23 according to the agent’s preference

There have been numerous cases of kids shot by police, when it later turned out the “weapons” they were “packing” were actually toys.

By the same token, there have been cases where (young black male) people have been shot reaching for their wallets, to produce ID. But I think that was only in New York City. (Michael Moore, I think did a thing on this in his TV show).

And PJ: why should Miles have to learn gun safety? I learned gun safety, as I was in a situation where a gun was always kept in the house. My partner, on the other hand, wouldn’t know how to safely handle a gun, other than basic common sense, because she grew up in a metropolitan area, and had no need to handle a gun.

(Oh, and Scot, it’s in, not ni in my name.)

You mention the guy who asks for water… it isn’t the askers but the takers you have to worry about. I told her we would need a gun to help protect her supplies.

Since you are not big on guns, I think this is simple. Get a fake pistol with holster. Wear it as you roll your supplies can down Mad Max Blvd. Wear the hat from your avatar. No one will mess with you or your family.

How else will Miles learn gun-safety?

Matt – you’re referring to the data about connection between advent of legalized abortion and lower crime rates 18 years later as covered in Freakonomics? Fascinating stuff – have been meaning to post about that for ages.

Gun bans do appear to reduce the number of accidental deaths from firearm related incidents. But legalised abortion does a better job of reducing the number of violent deaths due to firearms than any gun ban.

Having said that, and having grown up in a rural environment where firearms were a necessity (not to shoot the natives, or any type of dangerous wild animals, but to quickly and humanely put down sick or hurt animals, or kill pests like foxes and rabbits), I don’t believe that guns should be widely available to the general population.

I live in Australia, which has much more draconian firearms regulation than the USA, and I know in the UK, which is even more so, the penalties for illegal gun ownership preclude all but the most hardened criminals from packing heat. At least a “professional” criminal is less likely to accidentally shoot someone than a “new-to-criminality” criminal. Or so I’d like to believe.

(As for the last bit – I’d be very alarmed if some of my neighbours were carrying weapons. Mainly because they are too old to walk unassisted down the street.)

Gun bans are a failure in this regard. They remove the psychological deterrent.

But the physical gun itself should only be displayed in situations where you are prepared to use deadly force without hesitation. If a bear was mauling Miles, pulling out a gun makes sense. You’ll shoot that bear without thinking twice.

Pulling out a gun to defend your last Twinkie is a bit different. There will be hesitation, as neither you nor I consider a fookin’ Twinkie worth a human life, no matter how miserable that life.

Don’t pack a gun. Rely on your neighbors to be armed, and thus supply the psychological deterrent. And foist the “flight or fight” dilemma on them. :)

At work, a couple blocks from the Senate, my disaster plan is to walk around to the corner liquor store, buy a bottle of whiskey, and hope for the best. I don’t think it’s worth doing much more than that given proximity.