I find this thread fascinating. As a Canadian I have a hard time conceptualizing carrying a fire arm on your person on a daily basis. The laws here are such that you need a permit just to look at a hand gun let alone transport or use it (in addition to the ones you need to own it in the first place).

Reading this thread has made me wonder if my views on self defense in general are different too. To me the most extreme situation in self defense would be to use a knife against another person...and even this I don't think I would do unless I were in a 'kill or be killed' situation.

However, as it's mentioned in this post if you don't train to use a weapon, how can it be of use to you in such a situation? I don't train or practice combat with knives and haven't in over 10 years since I was an avid Kung Fu student...it's possible that some instinct might take over given the right stimulus but that's not something I'm willing to risk death over.

Does this make me vulnerable and unable to defend myself should I ever be in a situation where my life is threatened by another person? I've never thought so but reading all of your opinions on the matter sure has made me wonder.

Dave