Posted by Robert Dilley on July 15, 2005 at 18:04:34 from 216.211.51.57 user rdilley.
In Reply to: Re: Fear of a flat planet posted by Rob Marshall on July 14, 2005 at 19:11:51:
Another excitement of Florida: the chance of being legally shot in the street by a Floridian who thought you were looking at him funny.
It used to be that, if you felt threatened, your first responsibility (in Florida) was to try to get away. You could (legally) defend yourself only if escape was impossible.
Recently, Florida's Governor (brother of the world-renowned Global Warming expert) proudly announced (while flanked by a senior executive of the National Rifle Association) that he had just signed a bill allowing Floridians to attack first if they felt threatened.
Presumably the safest thing is to carry a gun yourself, and shoot first in case the person in front of you thinks you are going to shoot. On the other hand, he may shoot in case you think he's going to shoot because he may think you are going to shoot.... This could go on indefinitely.
It will be interesting to follow the statistics for handgun incidents. The latest annual figures I have shows the UK with 22 deaths from handguns (0.4 per million pop); Australia with 10 (0.6 per mil) and the US with 10,567 (42.5 per mil). Jemmerling and Black Jake would feel right at home.
You are probably safer on the Norfolk Broads, dodging Margolettas (with apologies to Cap'n Dan -- or should it be Margolettae?)