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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: unclewest who wrote (54370)	7/15/2004 10:19:34 AM
From: JohnM	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793911

Driving through S Dakota, Wyoming and Montana last fall, I saw many folks carrying rifles and pistols at breakfast in the motel, in gas stations and elsewhere. It was hunting season. One of the reasons I'm always more than a bit wary in Texas. No thanks. I prefer guns not be permitted in public places.

To: unclewest who wrote (54370)	7/15/2004 1:19:08 PM
From: Lane3	Respond to of 793911

Someone who is carrying in full compliance with the law is very unlikely to do you harm. By "disconcerting" I didn't mean especially fearsome. It's just out of place. Like someone walking around with his shirt on backwards or taking a snake out for a walk on a leash. You do a double-take. Out in your part of the world it wouldn't be disconcerting. I imagine ranchers regularly carry weapons. I would expect to see weapons in a diner in Wyoming or Montana or Idaho. I don't expect to see them in a coffee-shop in the Washington suburbs. In that environment, you see a gun and your first thought is to hit the deck. In that culture, someone with a gun is either a law officer or up to no good. The friend with whom I had breakfast bought a Glock and got a carry permit a couple of years ago. (To the best of my knowledge, he's never carried in anywhere.) He bought in in a gun shop out in the sticks. He was telling me that when he walked in the door he noticed that the shopkeeper was wearing a gun and he caught his breath. It's a natural reaction for us city folks. He recognized that there's no more appropriate venue for wearing a gun than running gun store, but he was slightly taken aback anyway. It's the culture and what you're used to. Hereabouts seeing a gun is more reasonably a cause for alarm than a yawn.