Joe Bleau wrote:
On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 00:49:26 GMT, Dan Best
wrote:


You know, it's funny. This question comes up all the time on the net,
but rarely, if ever, out here where people are actually doing it (we are
about to leave La Paz for points south). I can't remember the last time
the guns topic came up while talking with other cruisers. The sense I
get is that very few are actually carrying guns.
- Dan




YOu know, Dan, if they are smart enough to be prepared to defend
themselves they are probably smart enough to not be broadcasting the
fact. And since you are noncommittal on your stance I can only
conclude that you would not be lending a sympathetic ear. People are
not as dumb as the nanny-state thinks they are.

Joe

As a matter of fact Joe, as a former Army Ranger (B-2/75) , I have
absolutely no moral objection to the possession of firearms or the use
of deadly force in defending onesself or ones family. The obvious
caveat here is that mistakes and accidents happen. And if you make a
mistake with deadly force, the consequences are well, deadly. In the
service, they call this by the wonderful name, "friendly fire" (a good
friend of mine killed some people in a friendly fire incident - it
wasn't pretty). As long as the gun owner recognizes it, accepts it and
is capable of dealing with it responsibly, I have no problem with guns
in the home, on the boat or concealed carry.

I have chosen not to have firearms on my boat, but this is a personal
decision I made after considering all of the factors.

I was intentionally noncommittal earlier and there may indeed be guns
aboard a fair percentage of the boats out here as some have suggested,
but my comment stands. While this is a hot topic of conversation here
and elsewhere on the net, the subject just never seems to come up out
here among cruisers.

Fair winds - Dan Best

p.s.
It's probably a good thing I don't have a gun on board. We finally got
out of La Paz 2 days ago heading for the mainland and points south, but
returned this afternoon with a leaking fresh water pump on my
semi-trusty Perkins. There is an old Bill Maudlin cartoon from WW2 that
kept running through my mind today as I refilled my fresh water
reservoir every 10 minutes on our run back here, It has one of the guys
putting a broken down jeep out of it's misery with his .45 (my personal
all time favorite close in weapon) grin.