But if someone does that isn't it right that they be stopped and disarmed?

I always carry a large pocket knife with me, in my pick up I carry a 24" extendable batton and a large tear gas bear repellent ..... attached to the back of my seat a 9 mill carabine with a 28 shot clip, I have the back of the seat covered so that it looks like part of the back seat.

Also carry my 3 days back pack an in winter a heavy sleeping bag.

If that pocket knife has a blade more than 4" long, it would be illegal for you to carry it in public in many states.

I'd like to Suggest that in a Self Defense, -you take a Multi-Faceted Approach as the Situation Dictates. For instance, -in Addition to ordinary Fistfighting / Boxing / Martial Arts / Use of Standard Weapons or Handy Items / Sidestepping or Fleeing if you can, -that you also Segway yourself into say a Wrestle where you can. Especially if you feel you've at least somewhat've "Got Wrestling into your Bag"! Next to Disabling someone's Eyes, "Offensive Appendages", and etc, -There's nothing quite like getting an Attaker *Off* his Feet!, -and *Onto* the Ground!

*Don't* put all your Eggs into only One Basket! *Don't* put All your Self Defense Techniques into Only One Method!

Perhaps Learn and Master only One as much as Exceedingly Well! But *Don't* Neglect at least Some Knowledge and Familiarity with the Many Others!

Is it legal to carry extendable baton and pocket knife? I won't even ask about the gun.

But the Punks and Crooks over here would *still* have their Guns, -even if there *be* such a Sweeping, Public Ban!

The 20,000 to 30,000 Annual Victims of such, (and you don't even include those "merely" Wounded), -could easily be Many, Many, Thousands *More*! Were we to just attempt to Ban the "Firearms *Means*"!

Unfortunately, and Badly Reflecting on us / U.S., -We are Not all "Across the Common Board Civil", -as you Commendably are in the U.K., -where one could Successfully Do such!

Its like "Peace vs War"! -If *Nobody* were a Warmonger to *Begin with*, -We *Could* have ourselves an Amicable, Peaceful World! Here, -in this Idealistic Sense, -the Doves and Peaceniks *are* Right! *Everybody* should be such!

But in that many Someones somewhere in the World, -or on the Street, -are going to Wrongly want to Raise a Weapon at Another!, -Then we the Decent Citizenry / Free Peoples of the World, -are going to Ourselves have to Bear Arms / and Man Freedom's Watch!

There of course Remains Great Truism in the once Common NRA Phrase, -"When Guns are Outlawed, -Only Outlaws will have (and Use) Guns!"

I think they should also Go Back to that Great Commercial they've had! Back round '87 or so. Where the Crook's sitting at home, -watching TV, -Beholding some Politico Pledgeing "to Break the Back of Crime!", -*via a Ban*! The Crook just Sits there and Laughs!, Laughs!, Laffs! That Says it All So Very Well! Better than any other "NRA Preaching" could! They Really Outta Go Back to that! the Shame of Really Good to Great Ideas! Just Inexplicably Going Off onto the Shelf!, -Somewhere!!! Someone Please maybe Get the Hint!

For much of my Life so far, -I had been typically at sort of a Middle of the Road position on this, -at Best! Way back in my Young, Starting Out Day, -(RFK, MLK, '68, etc), -I even Fell for the Standard, Liberal, Gun Control and Bans, of a Line! At least I soon enuff Graduated to Middle of the Road.

But in Recent Years, -as World and Crime News has Increasingly and Much Gathered here at Home and Abroad!, -I've since Moved Over to a Full, -or at least Darned Pretty Near Full!, -*Advocacy*! Of the PRO Gun Views and Camp! The Decent Citizenry so Needs to be Able to Protect Themself! As well as of their Loved Ones!

As such, I actually "Feel Sorry For"!, -Feel a Sore and Crying Sense of Loss!, -at the latest "Gun Give In" Drives! "All those Priceless Enuff Firearms!", -I think, -"May Someday be Really and Sorely *Needed*!, -Here at Home or Abroad!"

The longstanding Crime Wave!, -has Grown More towards that of a Tsunami!, -as I see it! People are going to *Need* their "Like Spirited Protection"!, (and I *Don't* mean the Wrongness and All of Crime here!), -Should any such Wave Come to Break Over them! "Crime is Grime!".

Whatever happened to my 60s Days as a Kid!? When it seemed that the only Real Crime round Town!, -was your Average John Q Dumbo Burglar, -Jimmiing Open a Window!? Drive Bys and Stuff!, -We had None of that that I ever heard of!!!

I guess, -that when *Everybody* in this World, -and in All of our Neighborhoods, -Becomes and Remains "a Good Girl and Boy"! -That we can Then and Only Then, -Prevent some 25,000 Annual Gun Deaths, -via the Banning of the Cause of such Deaths! On further Thought again, -the Gun is Not the Cause! But rather the Means! The Implement. The *Person* and the Hand *Behind* such!, -are of course the Real Cause! That Person and Hand *should* only be of the Good and Decent Citizenry. In that it will of course Not be Fully that, -even here, -then that Good and Decent Ciotizenry Subset, -should be Fully Protected and Armed!

Otherwise, -I have Read, -and *Do* Acknowledge, -your Pro Gun Protection Views, -as you State! But to Read what you said was the *Cause* Behind our 20,000 to 30,000 Annual Gun Deaths!,...,-I just had to so Respectfully Differ and Answer here!

Again, -We *Should* be like Scotland and the UK here! In that we can *then* Do it in your Different and Better Way! But Sadly Enuff Reflecting Fact on us is, -that we are Not! And so the Good Guys too!, -Not only just the Bad Guys, -have Got to be Armed! Protected and Armed!

I guess, (at least as Far as the Domestic Crime and Social Scenes are Concerned), -that there's Really No Need for one to have their own Personal Howitzers, or Nuclear Weapons! So the general, Pro Gun Principle, -may Not Apply here in a more Practical Sense. In this way, -I think I still come down somewhere on a Middle Ground, -on this all round Matter and Issue.

I have now Finished Reading your last paragraph of your Thoughtful Post.

So as to a National or Public Debate around the Underlying Cultural Cause, -I again Respond that our "Armed Punk Subset" of it all, -just should Not be so! In that they should just Refrain from such! And that we could Then and Thereby do it!, -as you Commendably do it in the U.K.!

But in that we In-Commendably Don't!, -Our "Better Spirited Ones", -are just going to have to be Armed and Ready!, -for their own Self Protection!

This Remains so, -in Light of the Fact that some of us, -just *Won't*, -be Good Girls and Boys!, -to Start with! Even in a World where we "Banningly" Deprive them of the Ability to say!, -"Well Good Ole Mr Jones over there has a Gun!, -Thats the Only Reason I have one!". Frankly its just Because some of us want to be Punks and Crooks to begin with! Therein lies your Underlying Cause!

In the Face of that, -Decent Citizens just have to be Self Protected!

So at least our 30,000 Figure is Not a 60,000 one!

And Virginia Tech *could* have had Far Less Woundings and Deaths, -had some Decent One(s) there had a Firearm in their Own Protection!

Further!, -Many Punks *wouldn't* even Try such! In such a Pro Protection Environment! To the Great Contrary!, -VT was such a Ripe and Tempting Target, -to the Very Opposite! *Via* such a well Intentioned, Outright Ban!

Again, -if we Ban Guns, -Who will be the Only Ones to *Have and Use* such!?...

Lets take your own Country for example. Had during the Very Real Nazi Threat to Britian, -there in the early days of WW2, -Guns had been Outlawed throughout Britian, -and the Nazis had come Across the Channel!, -rather than going Eastward to Russia! -Then *How* would you have!, -to cite Churchill, -"Fought in the Streets, Hills...", and so forth!, -*Without* Guns!!? Here it would be Wise and Well for Britian to *have* some Guns!, -in its "Common Guy Culture"! While it is Admittedly Wise and Well of us!, -the U.S.!, -to *Not* have "Trigger Happy Punks" doing their thing, -to Begin with! These latter again, -are our Underlying Cause!

It *is* "Due to the *Need* to own a Gun because *Criminals* *HAVE* Guns"! To use some of your Own Words as you Raise, (with some of my own Emphasis added).

Again, -It *is* Adviseable of us that we have No Gun Wielding Criminals to begin with! But we *Do*! Sad Fact on us (and Others in the World), -is that we do!

It would be Good, Great, and Adviseable!, -if in a more Perfect, Peachy World!, -we *thereby* COULD put many Criminal Justice Folks, -Off to Other, Useful Work! But again, -this Neccessary Condition, -just is *Not* so!...

True, -Many Enuff Kids and others *Do* Die / Receive Wounds, -in Gun Accidents. Part of the Collateral Effects as you talk of. Very Regrettable and Unfortunate!, -of course. But it 8does* just happen to be part of the Price we Pay, -in our Over-Arching, Neccessary Protection!

And as to where Guns for the Badfolk originally Come From, -Even under a Perfect Domestic Ban, -Guns still Could and Would, -Filter in from Outside! Why!, -some Criminal or other Shady Gunsmiths, -would even Make some for them! There could be a Firearms Equivalent of our 20s Booze Running!

And again, -I See Potential and Possible Needs as could sometime Arise, -to Protect our Constitutional Freedom -and/or ourselves from Enemies Foreign, -via the Need and Right to Keep and Bear Arms! And Not Only as Neccessary Protection from various Common Street Punks. ("RKBA", by the way, -as appears a number of times in this thread, -means the "Right to Keep and Bear Arms". It took me several "Meetups" with that, -to Get It myself!).

Even with our often Splendiferous, Professional Armed Forces, -our Common Citizenry Still Needs its Rightful Guns! For Many a National Army or Govt around the World has been involved in a Coup! Or other such Mischief! I and Many Others of us!, -*Wouldn't* want that Possibility to ever be Occurring here!

On that preceeding, -I know that you may Respond, -of an Equal Danger of a "Wrongful Public Revolution"! Mob Rule and such! *Backed* by such Guns thruout our Culture and Public! Duly Noted! But here again though!, -I Beleive that the Greater Neccessary "Balanceout"!, -is and should be in Favor of the Public owning Guns, against Governmental Abuse and other Threats! *Over* Threat Possibilities Arising from the General Population!

I *Do* See much Constructive Value and Criticism, -in both the Substance and Spirit of such Views of your's, -from your "Outside Vantage Point"! Sometimes such an Angle of View, -is Better and Best!

But I also see Very Much actual NON-Applicability of much of it to us here! For the Reasons that I here and elsewhere in this Thread, variously Reply with and State.

"There have Always been Wolves Preying on the Sheep!". Perfectly Said!

Good and Great once again that you have Very Few Punks *First* Wrongly Using such Firearms! Your Ban is by Happenstance, -Successfully Coupled with that! This once again is the ONLY Way!, -that such a Ban, -could have such Actual or Apparent Happy Results! Again, -There is Not Neccessarily a "Happy Connection" there! Rather, -I Very Much think it is "Happy Happenstance"!

Here, -We (and Others in the World), -to our Discredit, -Just *Do Not* have that Happy Happenstance or Luxury! We have Plenty More Wolves Roaming About than you! And *Therefore* the Far Higher Numbers!

THAT is the Cause!, -the Underlying Cause! NOT our Second Amendment, Plentiful Firearms, and Right to Keep and Bear Arms!

Were that we WERE as you and Japan so Admirably Are! We just are in Large Measure Not!

You don't need to say much more (as you've said), -regarding your Own Admirable Situation. But you Can't Apply that Same to us! In that our Underlying Causes *Are* Different!

You cannot so Apply your Apple to our Orange! Should we be an Apple here rather than an Orange? Yes! But *While* we have Plenty Enuff "Bad Oranges" Roaming Around!, -We *Cannot* be your "Admirable Apple"!, as such!