Question re: guns on board in Bahamas

[danielamartindm]

Originally Posted by z28jimi

Planning to cross in May, clearing customs at West End. Fully understand the need to declare all firearms and ammunition, and intend to comply. Second night, we plan to anchor at Great Sale. So this is my concern...we're anchored, it's late and quite dark. We hear a boat approaching and so retrieve one or more of the weapons to have at the ready. Approaching vessel turns out to be Bahamian Defense Force, and they want to board. So now I have weapons that are properly declared, but which are not at that moment, in a "locked compartment." How much trouble am I in?

You really wouldn't get guns at the ready just because you heard an engine outside, right?

[Capt Phil]

A very good friend( long dead, unfortunately) from Vancouver, Canada, was vacationing in the Bahamas back in the 80’s. He and his wife were staying on a friends boat and were walking on the beach when they were attacked by about 3-4 Bahamians, so they thought.
She was raped by all 4 attackers and he was soundly beaten and spent several weeks in hospital. There were no witnesses so no charges were laid by the authorities in the Bahamas. His wife suffered greatly from the ordeal and committed suicide about a year later back in Vancouver. He was never the same after her death and went on to lead a solitary and non-productive life for many years.
Had he been armed, perhaps the outcome might have been different. As it turned out, her family and his were devastated and never really got over it.
The Bahamian laws regarding gun ownership are as much to blame as the thieves/ rapists in my opinion!
Phil

[admiralslater]

Capt Phil that post is as useful as as a Dr Phil diagnosis.
I am sorry about your friends,it is terrible.

[fish53]

Originally Posted by Capt Phil

A very good friend( long dead, unfortunately) from Vancouver, Canada, was vacationing in the Bahamas back in the 80’s. He and his wife were staying on a friends boat and were walking on the beach when they were attacked by about 3-4 Bahamians, so they thought.
She was raped by all 4 attackers and he was soundly beaten and spent several weeks in hospital. There were no witnesses so no charges were laid by the authorities in the Bahamas. His wife suffered greatly from the ordeal and committed suicide about a year later back in Vancouver. He was never the same after her death and went on to lead a solitary and non-productive life for many years.
Had he been armed, perhaps the outcome might have been different. As it turned out, her family and his were devastated and never really got over it.
The Bahamian laws regarding gun ownership are as much to blame as the thieves/ rapists in my opinion!
Phil

Or he/she may have shot one or two and then been beaten to death on the spot, or worse and have also accidentally shot someone else hundreds of yards away. Guns are not a guarantee of safety only a guarantee at a chance of a potentially worse outcome.

[Macblaze]

Originally Posted by stnick

...
Keep your spreader lights (led) on all night . Fly a US Marine Corps flag . You just want to look like a bad ass. !

As if anyone who hasn't been invaded by the U.S. has any idea what the Marine Corps flag looks like ...LOL

Originally Posted by a64pilot

To me it makes as much sense as a Canadian bringing a pound of Pot with them, cause you know, it’s legal in Canada.

Exactly. If Americans would only grasp that concept we could stop with all the anti-American rhetoric and just assume they are as stupid as the rest of us...

[tarian]

A sad and disturbing story, yes the argument is a gun might have stopped all this , the argument that those that choose to carry a gun are John Wayne is disguise needs to stop.
there are plenty of responsible gun owners and to always characterize these people as maniacs or stupid , is silly.
Those that do have their Mace Spray and a nice big knife and base ball bat , ready, so if stabbing a person to death is less than shooting them?

I am a UK citizen so do not own a gun and live in a culture with a strong gun control.
But believe in defending oneself and family from people who would do harm, my attitude is if they come at me with a Knife I will shoot them. Nothing more important than the safety of my Family

[fish53]

Originally Posted by tarian

A sad and disturbing story, yes the argument is a gun might have stopped all this , the argument that those that choose to carry a gun are John Wayne is disguise needs to stop.
there are plenty of responsible gun owners and to always characterize these people as maniacs or stupid , is silly.
Those that do have their Mace Spray and a nice big knife and base ball bat , ready, so if stabbing a person to death is less than shooting them?

I am a UK citizen so do not own a gun and live in a culture with a strong gun control.
But believe in defending oneself and family from people who would do harm, my attitude is if they come at me with a Knife I will shoot them. Nothing more important than the safety of my Family

As if it were that simple.

[tarian]

Originally Posted by fish53

As if it were that simple.

No nothing is Im afraid , but in a civilized country we are allowed to use reasonable force to defend oneself , family and our belongings, the term reasonable force is for judges to determine and not societies moral judgment.

[fish53]

Originally Posted by tarian

No nothing is Im afraid , but in a civilized country we are allowed to use reasonable force to defend oneself , family and our belongings, the term reasonable force is for judges to determine and not societies moral judgment.

I'm more concerned with the realities of " reasonable force to defend oneself" there's more to the issue than pointing a gun and pulling a trigger.

[tarian]

Originally Posted by fish53

I'm more concerned with the realities of " reasonable force to defend oneself" there's more to the issue than pointing a gun and pulling a trigger.

That is why we have Judges to decide for us, and we then. as the trigger puller need to live with our conscious.
For me the pulling of the trigger will always be dependent on the threat level I am a sound individual , who understands right from wrong , but if myself and family were put into a situation which at the time I deemed extreme danger then the trigger will be pulled with my mind in justification mode, the reality is after the event were does the mind go from there , after I have taken a Human life , I will never know , but I expect it would not be pleasant, but I would be balancing this with the prospect f what could have happened to my daughter and wife.

[boatpoker]

What do these six countries have in common ...
Brazil, Mexico, Columbia, Venezuela, Guatemala and the USA

This group of six countries make up more than 50% of all gun deaths.

Why ? .... serious question .... Why ?
Do they have more than 50% of the bad people in the world ? or could it be the sheer number of guns in these countries and a disatisfied, reactionary population ?

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Capt Phil

A very good friend( long dead, unfortunately) from Vancouver, Canada, was vacationing in the Bahamas back in the 80’s. He and his wife were staying on a friends boat and were walking on the beach when they were attacked by about 3-4 Bahamians, so they thought.
She was raped by all 4 attackers and he was soundly beaten and spent several weeks in hospital. There were no witnesses so no charges were laid by the authorities in the Bahamas. His wife suffered greatly from the ordeal and committed suicide about a year later back in Vancouver. He was never the same after her death and went on to lead a solitary and non-productive life for many years.
Had he been armed, perhaps the outcome might have been different. As it turned out, her family and his were devastated and never really got over it.
The Bahamian laws regarding gun ownership are as much to blame as the thieves/ rapists in my opinion!
Phil

The Bahamas in the 80s was a VERY different place than today.

[tarian]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

What do these six countries have in common ...
Brazil, Mexico, Columbia, Venezuela, Guatemala and the USA

This group of six countries make up more than 50% of all gun deaths.

Why ? .... serious question .... Why ?
Do they have more than 50% of the bad people in the world ? or could it be the sheer number of guns in these countries and a disatisfied, reactionary population ?

No I think you will find that these countries are large drug trafficking countries and Drug cartels run them ruthlessly , in America the problem is in my own opinion, is mentally ill individuals normally teenagers who carry out mass shootings in Schools, and then you have Gang culture again focused around Drugs
Very rare is it a citizen of say Texas with his side arm suddenly shooting up the local supermarket.
I do not live in the US but my wife and daughter are US citizens so my opinions are only based on my own research

[250224]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

The Bahamas in the 80s was a VERY different place than today.

In what sense? From the quote it would seem much more dangerous? On the other hand from looking at noonsite I had the impression that crime is on the rise. So there was a friendly peaceful time some years back?

[Luckyknot]

I took a gun safety course and am legally allowed to own a handgun in the state of Maryland. For me, the potential risks outweigh the benefits though. To put my perspective into perspective, I live and work in the heart of Baltimore City which had a murder rate of 56 per 100,000 in 2017. Nassau, one of the leaders in murder for the Bahamas (brief research), had a rate of 44.4 per 100,000 people in 2015. Most murders in both citys were by gun.

Most of my time travelling is by foot or bike. I guess my point is that I have other ways of staying safe which don't require lethal weapons. Even if I owned a gun, what are the chances it would be anywhere near me when I actually "needed" it? I can't imagine wanting to carry one everywhere I went, especially not on a romantic walk down a beautiful beach with my wife.

I believe in the second ammendment but IMHO, the second ammendment was to ensure that the people of the USA could prevent a monarchy from ever happening again (LOL, got tricked rather than forced at gunpoint. No clever law for that). It is for the people to be able to maintain control of their country, NOT for the people to shoot eachother nor for self defense against a fellow citizen. I don't know what happened here but it seems that our sense toward guns has all but vanished. Sorry world. Hopefully we'll get our s*** back together again soon.

What a fun topic!