The last mega Peak Oil conference in the UK was in 2011!

[johnny]

to a hobby farm in Vermont

You are aware that Vermont is a very blue state?
Just sayin ...

Can't say I've ever thought much about the politics of where I've moved and lived over the years. Vermont allows anyone to carry a concealed firearm without a permit. That's the main gun law that matters in my book. The real problem is you can only carry across state lines to the east. You can't get access to the rest of the L48 without going through the entire "you can't be trusted anymore to do what you've been doing since you were 14 because we are scared you're a changed person since you crossed the state line" routine.

I have heard that the "blue" nature of Vermont is because of the few large population centers (large being relative), stay away from them and you'll be among fine, outstanding normal folk.

[Vortex2]

Good point : a left wing state ... where people love their guns!

(Vermont allows anyone to carry a concealed firearm ... not tourists ... except perhaps if you have obtained a hunting licence)

BTW handguns are totally banned din the UK:

The maximum sentence for possessing a handgun in the UK is life imprisonment. The minimum sentence is five years' imprisonment, but this can be increased depending on the circumstances of the offence. For example, if the handgun is found to be loaded, the minimum sentence is seven years' imprisonment.

However it isn't all bad : in the UK you can get a 50% sentence reduction if you behave yourself in prison ... and a life sentence isn't really life either.

[johnny]

Good point : a left wing state ... where people love their guns!

Not a state. The couple big towns. Similar to other places in the country I might add, northern California sure doesn't look like the big metro areas to the south. Arizona and Phoenix, Texas is having similar issues, and is trying to dilute the voting power of the big metro areas. It is a fascinating thing to watch as it plays out.

BTW handguns are totally banned din the UK:

I am aware that some countries are scared to allow their citizens the right to object to potential tyranny in a meaningful way, yes.

The maximum sentence for possessing a handgun in the UK is life imprisonment. The minimum sentence is five years' imprisonment, but this can be increased depending on the circumstances of the offence. For example, if the handgun is found to be loaded, the minimum sentence is seven years' imprisonment.

However it isn't all bad : in the UK you can get a 50% sentence reduction if you behave yourself in prison ... and a life sentence isn't really life either.

Goodness, if the gun is loaded! Do you get extra time for carrying a knife if the edge is sharp?
Sometimes, even Americans don't understand the nonsense and games related to guns we play in our country. I don't understand the real nutters with guns, and there are others who think I am one of them because..I have guns.

Was at the range in the mountains this weekend, trying out 2 9mm Smith and Wesson's to see which one becomes my standard carry piece, and the other a backup. Two different types, but they both use the same magazines, which is nice when one is a primary and the other a backup. A criminal in the Old World am I.

[mr brightside]

Good point : a left wing state ... where people love their guns!

Not a state. The couple big towns. Similar to other places in the country I might add, northern California sure doesn't look like the big metro areas to the south. Arizona and Phoenix, Texas is having similar issues, and is trying to dilute the voting power of the big metro areas. It is a fascinating thing to watch as it plays out.

BTW handguns are totally banned din the UK:

I am aware that some countries are scared to allow their citizens the right to object to potential tyranny in a meaningful way, yes.

The maximum sentence for possessing a handgun in the UK is life imprisonment. The minimum sentence is five years' imprisonment, but this can be increased depending on the circumstances of the offence. For example, if the handgun is found to be loaded, the minimum sentence is seven years' imprisonment.

However it isn't all bad : in the UK you can get a 50% sentence reduction if you behave yourself in prison ... and a life sentence isn't really life either.

Goodness, if the gun is loaded! Do you get extra time for carrying a knife if the edge is sharp?
Sometimes, even Americans don't understand the nonsense and games related to guns we play in our country. I don't understand the real nutters with guns, and there are others who think I am one of them because..I have guns.

Was at the range in the mountains this weekend, trying out 2 9mm Smith and Wesson's to see which one becomes my standard carry piece, and the other a backup. Two different types, but they both use the same magazines, which is nice when one is a primary and the other a backup. A criminal in the Old World am I.

Johnny, why do you feel the need to have a 'standard carry piece' on your person? I'm assuming this means it's with you all the time.

[Vortex2]

Johnny, why do you feel the need to have a 'standard carry piece' on your person? I'm assuming this means it's with you all the time.

I can't speak for him, but in some countries you can feel a lot happier if armed.

In one place I carried a very small semi-automatic pistol (a crappy Spanish .380) on my belt ... I certainly felt slightly more confident/safer.

Almost everyone there was armed ... men and women ... except for men wearing shorts and sandals ... no place to hide a gun.

Our drivers had AKs or other fully automatic weapons lying on the passenger seats.

FWIW i was attacked twice in that country : I ran like h*ll to avoid the first one, and two armed bystanders scared away the second attacker before he reached me. (That was on my first visit, before I learned to be careful where I walked, and before I acquired the pistol).

[johnny]

Johnny, why do you feel the need to have a 'standard carry piece' on your person? I'm assuming this means it's with you all the time.

Not all the time, no. As far as "need", well, I carry it for the same reason I keep a $100 bill on me I don't use when I leave the house, always have my cellphone with me, a second credit card in my wallet rather than just one, have a spare house key woven into the laces of the tennis shoes I wear and throw a firearm in the car or in a holster under my jacket. Individually, I don't need any of those things, but any or all of them might come in handy anyway.

I have noticed in the past, that folks not raised in an environment where it is perfectly acceptable to carry a firearm, that there is an idea there must be a fear or overarching reason beyond the pale to drive someone to the brink to dare to carry a gun. The last thing you ever want to have happen is to "need" one. Under US law, you don't ever want the circumstances to arise where you "need" it. Because "needing" it is entirely about using it.

[johnny]

Johnny, why do you feel the need to have a 'standard carry piece' on your person? I'm assuming this means it's with you all the time.

Not all the time, no. As far as "need", well, I carry it for the same reason I keep a $100 bill on me I don't plan to use when I leave the house, always have my cellphone with me, a second credit card in my wallet rather than just one, have a spare house key woven into the laces of the tennis shoes I wear and throw a firearm in the car or in a holster under my jacket. Individually, I don't need any of those things, but any or all of them might come in handy anyway.

I have noticed in the past, that folks not raised in an environment where it is perfectly acceptable to carry a firearm, that there is an idea there must be a fear or overarching reason beyond the pale to drive someone to the brink to dare to carry a gun. The last thing you ever want to have happen is to "need" one. Under US law, you don't ever want the circumstances to arise where you "need" it. Because "needing" it is entirely about using it.

[mr brightside]

Johnny, why do you feel the need to have a 'standard carry piece' on your person? I'm assuming this means it's with you all the time.

Not all the time, no. As far as "need", well, I carry it for the same reason I keep a $100 bill on me I don't use when I leave the house, always have my cellphone with me, a second credit card in my wallet rather than just one, have a spare house key woven into the laces of the tennis shoes I wear and throw a firearm in the car or in a holster under my jacket. Individually, I don't need any of those things, but any or all of them might come in handy anyway.

I have noticed in the past, that folks not raised in an environment where it is perfectly acceptable to carry a firearm, that there is an idea there must be a fear or overarching reason beyond the pale to drive someone to the brink to dare to carry a gun. The last thing you ever want to have happen is to "need" one. Under US law, you don't ever want the circumstances to arise where you "need" it. Because "needing" it is entirely about using it.

I was actually raised in a gun carrying society, but it's moved on quite a lot now. I used to be able to walk through the town with an air rifle in a bag out to the fields to shoot rabbits, coppers would just drive past. Nowadays i wouldn't want anyone to see it out in the house or know i even have it; if i walked through the suburbs of Leeds with it in the bag like i did in 1995 i would almost certainly be reported as a terrorist and apprehended. This is the sort of 'progress' i don't agree with very much.

Thankyou for a comprehensive reply anyway. The kids over here get told that if they carry knives they are three times more likely to get stabbed.

[Vortex2]

The kids over here get told that if they carry knives they are three times more likely to get stabbed

.
I quite often carry a penknife.

It's legal as long as the blade is 3" or under, and the blade is not lockable.

I ground down my two penknives to trim their length and remove the locks when I found out about this.

However ... I have just found that the 3" is not just the blade .. it includes that little tab between the blade and the hinge.

Ho, humm .. where did I put that grinder?

[johnny]

I was actually raised in a gun carrying society, but it's moved on quite a lot now. I used to be able to walk through the town with an air rifle in a bag out to the fields to shoot rabbits, coppers would just drive past.

Same here. I got my first pistol at 14 or 15, and I'd be walking on the road carrying this 44 magnum revolver in a shoulder holster and the only thing that made it legal was a hunting license pinned to the holster strap across my back. If anyone asked, I was groundhog hunting, I was above the age of 12, pistols were legal to hunt with above that age, and so...nanny nanny boo-boo.

Nowadays i wouldn't want anyone to see it out in the house or know i even have it; if i walked through the suburbs of Leeds with it in the bag like i did in 1995 i would almost certainly be reported as a terrorist and apprehended. This is the sort of 'progress' i don't agree with very much.

Nowadays having one in the house is the least of anyone's worries...coming home drunk and wandering in the wrong front door can get you killed, with zero punishment for the home owner. Just don't shoot them in your front yard.

I always felt pretty free lugging one around outdoors when I grew up...I went from toting around a pistol most anywhere I wanted in the country to it being not even illegal, like in Louisiana. Back then, there was no law against carrying one, but if someone could see it they could call the cops and have you arrested for "inciting the public". I think that just meant "scaring someone", but it was the way it was done. So it seemed to this country boy that the world was out to get our guns...even Texas. I remember checking their laws when I wanted to head out to west Texas, and there laws forbade me from having one even in the car as an out of stater.

Nowadays...things are freeing up quite substantially. Matter of fact, they seem to be going to far the other way, as some sort of weird political response to prior restrictions and ridiculous American political discourse nowadays. I don't object to fewer restrictions of course, I can almost carry a gun from either side of the country to the other and Canada to Mexico, which I prefer to relying on the Federal transport laws to be legal in some states. Or Indian reservations, those you have to be careful about.

Thankyou for a comprehensive reply anyway. The kids over here get told that if they carry knives they are three times more likely to get stabbed.

The world apparently ain't what it used to be in other places either.