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In many ways to me, it is incomprehensible the growth in guns and the pathology behind the acquisition of them and reliance on them in US culture. Among the richest and most powerful nation-state in the world with simultaneously the most fearful and insular in a very large proportion of its populace. This whole Second Amendment thing has perverted and conflated gun rights and gun ownership as a birthright of patriotism. Every bloke that has ever cited the Constitution for entitlement of rights and privileges has NEVER actually read and comprehended that document.
The mythical Charles Bronson portrayal of the honorable "Death Wish" character is a fantasy. The real world instead is fulla loons and invisible, insignificant men like the Skittles shooter and the Muslim parking space vigilante just yearning for notice and admiration - nobodies alost and adrift in their own overly complex and unsatisfying feral existence.
What situations, other than invented scenarios, does a cyclist need a firearm? Coming across the hypothetical, random crazy violent nut case is pretty thin reasoning - most large urban areas have more crazies per square mile or riding in the subways right next to you than you're likely to find out in the wild. Because short of having somebody wanting to steal/harvest your vital organs, there's not that much value for theft can be found on a touring cyclist. Ironically, if you are a cyclist packing heat and I were looking to rip you off for your valuables, the most valuable piece I'd want to steal from you is your piece!
Give me a scenario where having a firearm saved the day. IMO it is no where near as prevelant and commonplace as to be supportive of the number of guns bought, sold and in circulation. Most LEOs have the good fortune to not draw their weapon and that is the more typical experience, isn't it? All these stories about guns saving the day and not one tale about it told around the fireplace. I have an open mind and am in no way anti-gun (duh!) but I'm not buying into the testimonials in and of the protective redemption of the gun.
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