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Well, believe my 6 years of living and working here (my work is somehow connected to the subject), there is NO place in Ecuador where a woman can walk alone safely. In Quito, for instance, people get assaulted in Quito Tennis, in Condado etc. Rationalize it all you want, say that you walk here and there for months and years and nobody bothers you, I know this much: you don´t walk here like you walk back home. My opinion: local judicial system does not impose enough fear into potential criminals. You are on your own here.
Sorry for the somber tone, just think that people should know all + and -.

A friend of mine was murdered in Quito and it never made the news either.

We're a mile from the center of Nashville, TN.  There have been five homicides within six blocks of our house this year.  You're not scaring me!

Why would anyone wanna live in the US with all them there dang guns....lol

It's outta freaking control, those damn gun lobbists

You are 100 % correct. A perfect example is the massacre that was just done in Colorado! Every single weapon this maniac used was legally bought. So much for the contention that  armed citizens will stop these mass murderers. I'm sure there are a ton of conceal carry permits in Colorado.
Everything the NRA protects this guy used. Semi auto weapons, with huge clip/ magazine capacities, multiple semi auto handguns bought in a short period of time, huge amounts of ammo purchased, in a short period of time. ( one drum clip he had held 100 rounds ) Luckily, like most cheap weapons of this sort, the thing jammmed, no way of knowing how many other innocents would have been killed had it not.
This type of rampage is pretty much limited to the US with the huge proliferation of guns available. Don't want to argue the gun rights folks... just look at the facts.
Stay Well,
ZenSPIKE

We dont really have gun issuse here in Australia...

How are they in Ecuador.. ?

Honestly, I can't say. I never heard of any gun violence when I was there, nor have I really seen much reported in my years of research on the net.
But, I can say, as LeftClique responded. There is a neighborhood in my city that pretty much posts a murder a day. I live in a wonderful neighborhood, and their was a gun murder just last week with-in a mile of my home. Very typical of most major cities in the U.S.. I don't hear of that kind of activity happening in Australia, or at least to the extent we have it here.
I feel not only is the the proliferation of guns, but it just seems we are becoming so angry in the U.S. If you make a mistake driving, you better be ready for a confrontation, or at the very least being flipped off.
It's ironic that in Cuenca, as soon as the stop light turns green, they are on their horns. Yet, they are not upset, rather just telling you to hit the gas. In the U.S. if someone honks at you, it's cuz they are P.O'ed, and it could escalate into Road Rage.
My feeling is that the people are happier in Ecuador, and don't habor all the inner rage I'm seeing here as of late.
Can't wait to move there, and slow my inner working's down.
Stay Well,
G'Day Mate
ZenSPIKE

Probably more pedestrian rage than road rage.  Although crossing streets on foot in the main part of El Centro isn't hard, anywhere else can be a challenge.

Well left(wing)clique. Nobody is trying to scare you. No need for antigun anti american screed. The point I was trying to add to was that violent crime against foreigners will not necessarily appear in the news. I'm sure all 5 of the homicides in whatever crappy neighborhood you live in were covered in the press. The one homicide that happened near my house in the last ten years was extensively covered in the press. Homicides that happen in the urban center I live in (also all appear in the press) generally share a common theme of drugs and gangs. The first poster talked of a gringo being stabbed during a robbery attempt and my friend was kiled during a burglary. None appeared in the local press. These are very rare events where I live but maybe not Tennessee. Ecuador, as much as I love it, has its dangers that really need to be understood. Especially if you are older and a move there exhausts your resources and won't allow a return to your home country. Cuenca may be different but I know most people are safe in their homes when darkness falls in Quito, just like the Omega Man. Feel free to continue with misinformed antigun screed.

Nards Barley wrote:

Probably more pedestrian rage than road rage.  Although crossing streets on foot in the main part of El Centro isn't hard, anywhere else can be a challenge.

I hear you on the foot traffic thing. I never really felt comfortable even walking down some of the very narrow streets in Cuenca. I swear to God, they are driving like 50 mph down those narrow streets, and they are only inches from you on the side walk. Interestingly though, I only saw like two traffic accidents involving cars when I was there, and very few cars with dents. The way they drive, that amazed me!
Stay Well
ZenSPIKE

Nobody is trying to scare you.

I had the same reaction. There is always someone willing to make the charge on a forum that the basis for discussing crime is to scare them from coming here. The greater point was that certain crimes are not reported in the media here. I only learned about the story because I read this . Go make that charge over there leftClique.  Maybe buy their Cuenca landing guide while you are at it.

I did not mean to offend anyone, but if I have, I apologize.  I don't think anyone was trying to scare me away from Ecuador.  All I intended was a humorous remark about crime being worse in my neighborhood here in Tennessee.

I did not say anything anti-American and I did not say anything about gun control.  It seems to me that a couple of folks here just want to argue.

All I know is that I left a message in good faith about a close friend that died violently in Ecuador and got what I felt was an insensitve snarky remark for my effort. Apology accepted, no harm done, moving forward.

LeftClique wrote:

I did not mean to offend anyone, but if I have, I apologize.

I think we misinterpreted your comment.  You meant the bad guys aren't going to scare you.

P.S.

Since people kill people, rather than people with weapons, why don't we start allowing Fishing shops to sell a host of military grade weaponry include mustard gas canisters and bazookas, since those should qualify as arms under the second amendment as well?

Bullet,

I am asking you to explain why ownership of  certain weapons like the gun used in that mass murder the other day are protected under the 2nd amendment of the constitution while other weapons like shoulder fired rocket launchers are not.

At the time of the constitution was written there were single shot muskets that took 30 seconds to reload. So to claim that it is perfectly sensible that an AK-47 with a 100 round clip be legal under the constitution while a shoulder fired rocket launcher is not makes no sense to me. They both are considered arms and they both could be used by militias to fight government tyranny, which was the intent of the founding fathers.

Murder and deliquency is a big problem in Ecuador, most of the news channels dedicate most of his time to inform about assaults, robberies, murders and so on.  Maybe the violence againts foreigners is hidden trying to not scare them and keep the flow.
Nobody is truly protected againts violence, here or on the States.

The law in Ecuador doesn't allow civilians to have guns, you need a bunch of documents and is very difficult to get a gun permit and only you can have it in your house.

If somebody breaks in your house and you kill him you go to jail, only if the intruder shot you first and you can probe it was self defence maybe you will avoid jail.

And about the right to bear guns, is not the same to have a revolver or a knife than have an AK 47 or something similar.
Why you need this kind of guns in your house?
Crazy people is everywere but is not the same if they can get a knife or a pistol than an assault rifle or explosives.

Vinny

Recently in Quito there was a bank robbery in one of the large malls.  As the bank robbers were leaving the security forces caught them and a gun battle erupted in the mall.  A friend of mine's father got caught in the gun fire and took two bullets to the abdomen.  Unfortunately he died of his wounds.  I do not know how many others were hit or killed but they only caught two other three robbers.  Wrong place, wrong time.  Could have happened anywhere.  Guns don't kill people, people using guns kill people.

Here is another Ecuadorian crime story happened about a year ago, I'm sure it'll be useful for newcomers. A friend of mine, an american expat, confronted 2 thieves on the first floor of his North Quito house at noon. One of them fled. He managed to hold another at gunpoint until police arrived. The intruder was taken away, and my friend was ordered to show up at Policia Judicial(PJ) to give a statement. By the time he went there, in about 2-3 hours, things changed drastically. In PJ he found the guy he detained, his partner who fled + about dozen of their relatives/friends who all testified that my friend kidnapped the guy and tried to extort money from him. Worst of all: the fiscal-en-turno believed him!!! So, right then and there my friend was also detained. At this moment there was no other way to settle it but to pay off the "crowd" and drop the charges mutually. Needless to say, they paid all back... extra-officially... 
Anyway: keep in mind, these are not US judges and prosecutors. They will take the local side of any story before yours, no matter how unbelievable it sounds.
Another friend, an Ecuadorian army colonel, smiled when he heard the story and said: should've killed them both and dump them somewhere. Well, next time...

Hi,

I've decided to reopen this thread, but as the topic is quite sensitive, please avoid being off-topic or we'll have to close the thread.

As bullet1943 mentioned:

not sure if this forum is the right place for a discussion on US 2nd Amendment or gun laws

No it's not the right place. This forum is dedicated to life in Cuenca, and not to the US.

Thanks for your attention,

Julien

I have been researching Ecuador to death, considering a move there to retire.  I have checked on as much current news and information from many resources and three things stand out that concern me.  The first is the legal  system.  From what I have read you are lucky if when you call the police they come.  Second, I have read that relatively few criminals are actually found guilty and walk, and the criminals know this, so are not too concerned about being arrested.  I also read that Correa has pretty much an open-door policy, allowing just about anybody to come into Ecuador making Ecuador a haven for international crime organizations. Than there is the high crime on both the Colombia and Peru borders, not to mention the coast.
If anyone out there can help to eleviate some of these concerns, I'd really appreciate it, because overall Ecuador sounds like a great place to live.

palmtree, you are right with your doubts. The key to all bad in Ecuador is their judicial system. And their police does show up when you call, but unfortunately they face the same law of use of force as a regular citizen: can't hurt anybody unless you are hurt first with the same type of weapon. So, in most situations they are reluctant to act, which is understandable. Judicial system heavily favors locals, so even with thousands of signatures on thousands of documents and thousands of witnesses on your side you still will be dragged for years and years in courts. Do not come here to do "cheap" plastic or other surgeries , they are cheap for a reason: if something goes wrong "lo siento" is the most you will get. Let's focus globally for a second. Is there any other 3rd world country that is different? No. Ecuador is a great retirement spot if you want to retire in the 3rd world.
Good luck to all!