This Is Where I Live And This Is Why We Need To Keep Our Right To Own Firearms!

Ok for those of you not familiar with Vallejo CA, This is a City in the San Francisco Bay Area and also happens to be where I live at the moment...It used to be a prosperous City until 2008 when it went Bankrupt. heres a link to where I'm pulling the quotes from. www.sfgate.com.../g/a/2011/08/21/bloomberg1376-LQ6S0C1A74E901-0RB3MHU3VS7PC2SNKQVKSASML2.DTL Here is a quote from todays paper,

""I see prostitutes, pimps and drug dealers out my front window," Rooney said in a telephone interview Aug. 5. "There's two on the corner right now." Her property value has dropped 70 percent in six years, she said"

This is not a understatement!! The Majority of people you will see around in this City is Prostitutes and Dealers/Pimps...If not they are Homeless and They Are Everywhere!! Every night my girlfriend and I have people jumping our fence into our backyard looking for stuff to steal or trying to break in occasionally. Most of the time they are running from Rival Gangs and Police so they are over our fences super fast which is kinda funny to watch but not at all a good situation..Heres another Quote from today's Paper

"The recession has also battered the city, eroding tax revenue and leading to a 12 percent unemployment rate as of June. One in every 124 Vallejo homes had a foreclosure filing in July, according to RealtyTrac Inc., an Irvine, California-based provider of default data"

That figure might not seem super drastic but considering most of this city is poor and used to rent it doesn't show the true nature of the Environment..This used to be a big prosperous City with Over 100,000 people now it looks like a Mad Max Movie in at least a third of the city...Here's another Quote from the Newspaper here,

Vallejo has 302 neighborhood-watch associations with 2,552 members, up from 10 groups with 60 people in 2009, said Tony Pearsall, executive director of the Fighting Back Partnership, a Vallejo-based nonprofit social-services group.

"They're doing crime prevention themselves because there is no crime-prevention unit in the police department anymore," Pearsall, a retired Vallejo police captain, said by telephone"

If this is a small insight to what we can expect when The Economy Collapses, THEN WE NEED OUR GUNS TO PROTECT OURSELVES!!! THE POLICE WON'T BE THERE TO HELP!! IF THE CRIMINALS ARE THE ONLY ONES WITH GUNS THEN WE ARE JUST VICTIMS!! There has been Several Murders This year within 1 mile of my house and there was a guy murdered a month ago in my neighbors backyard running from a gunman who is still unknown and at large...

Here's my Favorite Quote Because I'm a Prop 215 Cardholder,

"You know the only businesses in town making money? Pot and prostitution -- that's it," said Matt Shotwell, 30, who opened the dispensary in January 2010 and keeps a bong on the desk in his office.

It's just getting worse even though the City just came out of Bankruptcy..I hear automatic Gunfire every week an we, the average Citizen can't own these weapons in California so we're are outgunned outnumbered with no police force. What are we supposed to do???? I'm not saying I can't just move somewhere in fact my girlfriend and we are trying to but it's rough with what little we can scrape by with here. An even if we did go somewhere there's no guarantee that it will be any better come 2 years from now if the Economy keeps crumbling.. This was never a Utopia by any means but the City went from fun and livable 2 years ago. To me sleeping with loaded guns close by because of home invasions and robbery's are the norm here.. Thanks ATS for letting me vent an share my life with others that the Economy hasn't affected yet. Just a heads up this can be any city in America in next to no time.................

"The Beauty of the 2nd Amendment is you will never need to use it until they try to take it away from you." -- Thomas Jefferson

I think that about sums it up..

Originally posted by DaMod
"The Beauty of the 2nd Amendment is you will never need to use it until they try to take it away from you." -- Thomas Jefferson

I think that about sums it up..

Pretty Much...

I hear ya man. That sucks that you among millions of people have to deal with these scum that steal, sell drugs, and screw people over to get theirs. I agree with you 100% on gun rights, and I sure as hell will fight for them. I live In the county up north in Washington so I dont see much of what your seeing, everyone has guns out here. But who knows what a collapse could bring? We need to be able to hunt if there is no food, and we need to be able to protect what is ours from people trying to take it from us.

california

where drugs, pimps and prostitues run rampant

and guns are illegal for the most part

meh cant really say anything good about california no offense not all californians have their priorites out of whack.

personailly if i was born in california id move.

reply to post by llmacgregor


I agree 100%..I live up in Spokane Washington for a while and while it wasn't the safest city people were a lot more respectful and I never heard of home invasions and I think what mainly kept that to a minimum was the amount of gun ownership up there.

If I were you OP I'd move. I don't see what difference having a gun would make. As long as you don't feel like changing your profession to pimp or dope dealer you should be OK, but you sound unhappy so move.

reply to post by neo96


Yeah I've moved all around the U.S. and down in Central America and enjoyed it more in other places but things don't always work out as planned. So I end up moving back to California where I was raised, Its the only place (due to being raised here) that I know I can find work and have a roof over my head while looking. This is rapidly changing too because most the company's I've worked for are now no longer in business...

Originally posted by ispyed
If I were you OP I'd move. I don't see what difference having a gun would make. As long as you don't feel like changing your profession to pimp or dope dealer you should be OK, but you sound unhappy so move.

We're trying..it's pretty tough though with rent and everything...I don't have kids but my girlfriend (we live together) has three kids so it takes a lot just to keep them fed an clothed for school..but you are right I am unhappy here and best option is to move..It just hasn't been a option yet due to financial reasons.

Thanks for posting and keep safe. It is good to hear that you are prepared in the case of burglary or worse, have you made any improvements to your place to assure it is more secure?? Extra padlocks, locking window latches, etc...

It would drive me batty seeing people hop the fence in my back yard.....maybe it time to set up some traps! Ya know, cover a big hole of spikes with some sticks and grass. Now that would make for an amusing evening

Originally posted by TheRealTruth84
Thanks for posting and keep safe. It is good to hear that you are prepared in the case of burglary or worse, have you made any improvements to your place to assure it is more secure?? Extra padlocks, locking window latches, etc...

It would drive me batty seeing people hop the fence in my back yard.....maybe it time to set up some traps!

Ya know, cover a big hole of spikes with some sticks and grass. Now that would make for an amusing evening

That thought has crossed my mind but with my luck and it being California the guy would try an sue me or something like that.. Possibly even a cop chasing the guy would be the one to fall in...not to mention my girlfriend has kids running around back there.... but I have thought of it... As far as other precautionary things, we have an alarm system and I have a pit bull but I leave her at my moms house because she likes the company/protection..

What makes you think the second amendment is under attack? It's actually the opposite with the courts making alot of decisions lately that favor gun owners. This follows the two landmark decisions the Supreme Court made in 2010 in favor of the second amendment.

Originally posted by kro32
What makes you think the second amendment is under attack? It's actually the opposite with the courts making alot of decisions lately that favor gun owners. This follows the two landmark decisions the Supreme Court made in 2010 in favor of the second amendment.

Well I legally Can't own a firearm being a Felon so that to me says it is under attack...My girlfriend can though so we are OK for the moment..An before you say OH your a Felon no wonder...It was my only charge ever and it was 6 years ago for wreckless driving...I went over a 100mph and didn't hurt anybody but it's considered endangering the lives of others...I admit it was dumb but I was 24 and just finished building my truck and I was just a dumb guy really..I'll never do that again but my guns are gone because of it so that to me is unconstitutional. Not to mention the Criminals are the only ones with automatic weapons..Does it say in the amendment you can bare arms but only the ones we say u can? Because in California even the cops are outgunned...watch 44minutes

reply to post by NewsWorthy


The Supreme Court has said that yes the Congress of the United States can regulate which types of guns you carry. They are the final law of the land and they alone determine what is Constitutional, not you.

So yes it is very Constitutional for you not to be able to own those types of weapons. If you want one to compete than go out and get one like the criminals do. Nothing is preventing you from doing what they do.

Originally posted by kro32
reply to post by NewsWorthy

 

The Supreme Court has said that yes the Congress of the United States can regulate which types of guns you carry. They are the final law of the land and they alone determine what is Constitutional, not you.

So yes it is very Constitutional for you not to be able to own those types of weapons. If you want one to compete than go out and get one like the criminals do. Nothing is preventing you from doing what they do.

Nothing except not wanting to be a Criminal....I don't want to compete lol... I really never felt the need for guns and was fine with them taking them until Vallejo went Bankrupt.It was then I realized that they are needed if there is no law enforcement..That's kinda the point of this thread was to show how fast things went from OK to Terrible after we went Bankrupt..Like I said it can happen anywhere and if the police and the residents are outgunned then what are we supposed to do?? I don't know if you read the thread after the title because you would have seen the police Captain say the people are banding together because there is almost no law enforcement....I'm not saying arm them like Militia to combat these people but I bet if the whole city knew each other had Assault Rifles there would be Far less Home Invasions and that's really what I'm scared of is waking up to a gun in my face......

reply to post by NewsWorthy


If you feel the need for your neighborhood to defend themselves with firearms there are plenty available that will work just fine and are legal.

Here's some advice for you though. A good shooter can take a piss poor weapon and win in a fight against someone just randomly spraying bullets.

I highly doubt if the criminal element around you practice firing those weapons they have. Take some time and go to the shooting range with whatever you have.

reply to post by kro32



Advice well Taken...You are absolutely right!! I understand a weapon is usually only as dangerous as the person holding it....I have 1 question though, do you think if the criminals knew every house was armed as well as them they would still do as many home invasions?? I don't think there would be but I could be totally wrong.... When I lived in Idaho and Washington home invasions basically didn't exist. The general consensus was because nobody wants to walk into a firefight and that is what awaited potential invaders.

PS...Thanks for your input/advice

I do not know if the crime rate would drop or skyrocket. I would assume murders would increase simply from the amount of firepower on the street but the rest is just guesswork as I'm not familiar with any historical examples of an unarmed or limited country going to zero limits on gun control.

An example you could possibly use is the old west where everyone carried roughly the same firepower. There was still plenty of rape and thievery going on and there is a reason many towns outlawed weapons altogether.

However I would assume people were also a bit more respectful when the guy across from you has a sidearm also.

Very excellent question though star and flag for you

reply to post by kro32


Thank you..I'ma look into it a little bit more..I think Australia might of had a firearm ban, maybe that will give me a better idea of the outcome. (If they had a similar scenario play out I mean)