Fulltimers with Firearms?

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Darwin Maring

Jim, What U don't understand is that the City Yanks that go 2 the wild (Yellowstone 4 example) will walk up as close as possible and get mauled to death by the bears and other wild animals. It happens every year in our Yank (USA) parks.

Yup it happen just a couple of days before I was in Yellowstone last. But the good news is the park staff realized just who the problem was and the bear lived on to tell the story to all its friends!

[cpaharley2008]

Let's try and get the subject matter back to those of us that maybe full timers in our fiberglass rv's and the issue of firearms, thank you.

[841K9]

Originally Posted by Thomas G.

This is exactly why I'm scared to go to Canada. Their crime rate must be, what, ten times the US?

I meant places like theaters, stores and the like in the more populated areas where most people live and work.

Crime is everywhere and no one is immune.

The only fear I had in Canada was the "premium" fuel.
I had a modified SVT Cobra that had issues with anything less than the best fuels.

[honda03842]

Worried about the murder rate? Come to NH, the Live Free or Die state. NH has the lowest murder rate of continental US states and lower than 8 Canadian Provinces.

I think NH's rate is an indicator of what the lack of big cities means, that most places RVers travel are like NH, void of violence and typically not to cities. As a result weapons seem not to be necessary for the fulltimer.



If you're looking for a really low rate consider Nfld or just about any of the maritime provinces.

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by honda03842

most places RVers travel are like NH, void of violence and typically not to cities. As a result weapons seem not to be necessary for the fulltimer.

You mean places like, say, Florida, Texas, and Arizona, the Fulltimer's Winter Roosts?

Not that I think fulltimers necessarily need an arsenal, but I think it's a bit of a stretch to say it's due to "low crime rates" of the places they frequent!

Francesca

[honda03842]

Francesca,

We traveled for 11 months last year and really were never anywhere I felt threatened. Generally we are not in big cities. When we are near them or have to go into them we stay at places like Lake Mead, though close to Las Vegas, Lake Mead is a decidely safe area surrounded by Rvers.

We spent a month in Texas and I can say that every minute there I felt safe. The campgrounds, particularly the COE parks were marvelous. We even camped at the junction of the Rio Grande and Pecos rivers, far from any community right on the border and felt nothing but safe.

The reality is when you get away from cities, we are generally away from most of the crime. (Over 4000 people were murdered in Chicago in the last 10 years compared to 2000 American soliders killed in Afganistan in the same period. As Ginny says "We're never going to Chicago.")

When you're in the typical low population denisty areas we travel, (coast of Oregon, Montana, Nevada, Idaho,) there is little crime and the murder rate is extremely low. I'm infinitely more likely to be killed by a drunk driver than any bad guy out to get me.

Simply the typical areas RVers travel are among the safest in the country and fellow Rvers among the friendliest people I have known, with or without a gun.

Traveling as a fulltimer is safe. I belong to the largest group of fulltimers, the Escapees, and I have yet to hear of anyone being murdered.

Enjoy the road without fear

[jen b]

Can I just say a word about cities?

People survive living in them every day. I live in the middle of Philadelphia, travel on foot and bike all over the place, and my main daily risk is suburbanites driving cars and not understanding that bikes are legal traffic participants and being nastily vengeful about it.

According to recent crime studies, over 80% of the time the violent crime in cities is criminals shooting one another. Filter for that and life is not really that different from not-in-cities as far as daily violence goes.

So, just reassuring folks that setting foot inside city boundaries does not necessarily mean death is just around the corner, unless you are coming to cheat your meth seller or whatever.

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by jen b

Can I just say a word about cities?

People survive living in them every day. I live in the middle of Philadelphia, travel on foot and bike all over the place, and my main daily risk is suburbanites driving cars and not understanding that bikes are legal traffic participants and being nastily vengeful about it.

According to recent crime studies, over 80% of the time the violent crime in cities is criminals shooting one another. Filter for that and life is not really that different from not-in-cities as far as daily violence goes.

So, just reassuring folks that setting foot inside city boundaries does not necessarily mean death is just around the corner, unless you are coming to cheat your meth seller or whatever.

Times two....

Thanks for speaking up for those of us who spend a lot of time in cities and don't feel afraid there either, Jen!

Francesca

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

Times two....

Thanks for speaking up for those of us who spend a lot of time in cities and don't feel afraid there either, Jen!

Francesca

Yah? Try Calgary during the Stampede. Scares the willies out of me! My kids seem to enjoy it though.

[Night Sailor]

I boondock. That means overnighting in out of the way places. I try to choose safe places but sometimes I'm forced to stay in rest stops when I am too tired to continue.

I too am licensed in carry firearms in a few states. At one point I had licenses to carry or reciprocity in 38 states. Carrying a firearm in the US makes sense for me. Canada raises other concerns, although many of my friends carry and think anything under a 44 magnum is a ladies purse gun.

While I am comfortable in my home state and know which areas to avoid. I often felt uncomfortable in other states while serving in the Air Force and later when retired I felt a bit more vulnerable as if don't have the security of being on an Air Force base--which is the safest place anyone could be.

Cities are more dangerous. I asked my liberal boss, a full Colonel for approval to apply for a concealed weapons permit while stationed in Massachusetts and was immediately denied. I asked for approval to go up one level to his boss, another Colonel and was given the OK to speak to him about it. I didn't have to wait I was called down a few minutes later. I stated my case and my liberal boss spit out the comment, "Where would you be going where you would need one?" My response was "the theater district". Frankly while I enjoyed going there, the parking lot under the commons and the commons itself was always a place that made me very nervous. My commander approved my application immediately. Some people are frightened of guns and others feel very comfortable with them. The former cannot understand the later. The fraidy-cats can't understand why some place where you might want to go are dangerous to an unarmed man but safe for an armed man.

So the lesson is obvious to all. Cities are more dangerous but we don't want to avoid them for that reason--not completely. And we can expect that some people will worry that armed people are more dangerous than a bear. So it is best to hide the fact that you are armed from the timid frightened people who would rather be slaughtered than defend those they love.

I looked it up and found some surprising facts. The farther north you go, your greater chance for violent crime. Nunuvit and the NW Territories being the worst. I have heard of problems in Nova Scotia too which is reflected in this chart. Perhaps it is because extremely rural locations have poverty also.

My brother chased off a fellow trying to break into his Bigfoot truck camper with a gun. I hope I never need it, but my plans include bringing a watchdog, a gun, and other security measures whenever I travel. You are more vulnerable in a camper. If you travel with a group there is safety in numbers. My niece traveled to Mexico in a group of 5o fire fighters in a dozen cars and campers. That is best.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Canada

I travel to Canada often. I'm in the beginning stages if planning a trip to Alaska now with my uncle. At 13000 miles it will be a costly trip, but I want to spend some time with my uncle who 78 is failing. i want to do this while I still can. I also plan to visit friends in Ontario this year. If I spend 30 days on the road I will most like want to bring a gun.

I like Canadians and plan to spend lots of time up there this year. While I don't carry firearms to Ontario, I have seen bear tracks while hiking and would feel better carrying firearms. I would also like to compete in target shooting competition again and may use that as an good excuse to go to new places. I have been looking into the laws of Canada for that reason. I intend to be careful to comply with all laws if i go that route. Most likely I won't bring firearms.

I feel nervous about revealing the fact that I have firearms to the authorities. In 2008, in my town a police SWAT team broke into a house and killed a man. They settled the lawsuit this week for $3.5M. The officer that killed him was made officer of the year. Meanwhile, the towns argued they were justified, two officers stated the did not support the action and felt knocking on the door was appropriate. The men were found in a defensive posture in a corner. One factor was they believed the owner to be armed but they had previously seized his one firearm--because some visitor saw it and freaked out about it. The lesson is that once the police know you have a firearm, they can kill you and get away with it, claiming self defense, even if they are the aggressor. My biggest fear is not criminals but over zealous police officers. Cops and towns cover up their mistakes by making innocent civilians pay the price.

So while it is probably safer in Canada if you avoid the cities and native settlements, there are still bears to worry about, and traveling alone means you are vulnerable. Weigh that against cops that freak out if citizens carry firearms. I can completely understand why the poster would bring a gun and not declare it.

[Mary F]

This topic has run its course and so this thread has been closed.

Have a nice day.