Violent crime rate has been decreasing for a decade. The murder rate is the lowest it's been in over 40 years.

Concealed carry permits have gone up.

Now find a way to argue that IQ's are involved. Maybe you're right. Perhaps it's the IQ that has gone up in proportion to concealed carry?

Let me just say that the combination of Z thinking of himself as an important security person with a legally obtained weapon set up a very bad situation.

Anything wrong with CC permits? Not unless issued to dipsticks who cannot be trusted.

If he had been carrying an illegal weapon he might not have been so eager to use it in violence for fear losing his investment and perhaps being arrested.

I admit it is a somewhat obscure point but may be true nevertheless.

Whether or not he had marks on him from the struggle is beside the point that he stalked and cornered the young man and when he found himself in over his head blasted his way out.

If he had not had a gun he would probably not have cornered the young man.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I'll bet Zimmerman disagrees with you. If Zimmerman could turn back the clock, my guess is that he would prefer to get his butt whipped by Martin versus what actually happened.

I'll do you one better.

I'll bet he'd have stayed in the nice, dry vehicle. Or home, for that matter.

The benefit of telepathy is that one can assert anything one wishes.

I just had a message from beyond: Trayvon would like to inform us that Zimmerman is a big doo-doo.

As more CC permits are issued, it stands to reason that more imbeciles will be granted them.

You like the idea of an idiot with a concealed carry permit?

We could talk all day about the merits, or lack thereof, surrounding gun control and CC permits and still not reach accord. There are multitudes of studies that will highlight whichever point you or I wish to make. Just look at the statistics from DC and Baltimore... lots of numbers, no real proof either way.

I am not an advocate of gun control per se, but states like Florida that give out CC permits like candy are a little concerning. Fortunately I don't live there, and most likely never will, although that in no way means I can't be issued a Florida CC permit.

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On some nights I still believe that a car with the fuel gauge on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. - HST

1983 300SD - 305000
1984 Toyota Landcruiser - 190000
1994 GMC Jimmy - 203000

https://media.giphy.com/media/X3nnss8PAj5aU/giphy.gif

Nobody said anything about telepathy. Just commenting on whether Zimmerman would have been better off without a gun. I'm guessing that Zimmerman wishes he had been unarmed.

Quite an assumption on your part. There is no evidence of which I am aware that Z was not on his way to his vehicle--just an assumption by the same media who edited the tape to make it fit their story.
That is why I want to see a time-line of the 911 call and everyone's where abouts superimposed on a map.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

I'm guessing that you're guesses are sort of like an opinion draped in pretty clothes.

the stats speak with more authority than god knows how many opinions.

Or guesses.

What the hell does that mean? My guesses are opinions, but I don't put any sort of clothes on them.

What's your point? Is there something wrong with my giving my opinion?

BTW, I assume you meant "your", not "you're."

Good guesses!

Opinions are like ....

Right, everyone has one. This thread is mostly opinion with a few facts thrown in here and there. It's called a conversation. You threw in two factual statements which I believe are true - violent crime is down and CC is up - and nobody responded with any condescending remarks about the difference between causation and correlation. Imagine that. It's just like normal conversation.

In MS Fowler's opinion, "[i]t wasn't the gun that caused the problem." In my opinion, the gun did cause the most serious of Zimmerman's current problems. You seem to have some problem with that opinion, though you haven't really articulated what that problem is.

Let me clarify....
I don't know Z's psychological makeup, so it is possible that the possession of a handgun allowed Z to act with greater bravado than if he were w/o the handgun.
The question is, "so what?" How do you change that circumstance? I can only see a few ways to address it--ban all gun ownership ( which is tantamount to giving the young and strong an decided advantage over the weak, old and infirm.,--- or to develop some sort of psych. test before allowing CC. I would be afraid that such a test could / would be used to deny CC to everyone. My experience here in MD is that the only ones permitted CC are politically well connected dems and those who need to carry large sums of cash--i.e rent collectors. Former LEOs are usually denied CC permits. MD does not have a "shall issue" form of CC law.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

Those are tough questions. My comment was about whether it is wise to arm oneself even if the law allows it, which is another tough question, IMHO. Mr. B, apparently, finds my question boring, or something.