Reply #27: I wasn't referring to DC v Heller, but Warren v DC,

[darkstar3]

which was referred to in the post above mine.

With regard to my "tired old canard," I wasn't referring to CCW but to open-carry explicitly, which is what conjured the image in my mind of the "old west."

As for FL's CCW holders, I'd be curious to know what percentage of them had actually used their weapons, but I doubt that is a statistic we can find.

I don't want to repeal the 2nd, and I never said I did. In fact, I'm mostly in favor of an armed citizenry, but the reason I'm on the fence about this whole issue can be found in the following paraphrased quote from The West Wing:

"They bought the guns, they bought the ammo, they loaded the guns and drove them across state lines, they walked with the guns into an open building and found a window overlooking the President's exit, and until they actually PULLED THE TRIGGER they had yet to commit a crime!"

I don't want to take people's rights. I just want to make it harder for them to kill people. Punishing gun criminals won't bring back the people they kill and it certainly hasn't proven to be an effective deterrent, so we need to find a way to stop them from murdering people before they get there.