I am sorry, but it seems that 90% on here that carry guns need to sort out your lives. Really, if you need a gun in your area then move. For a hobby, shoot away.
For some of us, "sorting out our lives" isn't the problem. I don't really have much of an option at my point in life.
I can't afford to move because my job doesn't pay well enough, my job doesn't pay enough because I'm still going to school and haven't got a degree yet, and the fact is, I'm living within my means right now.
I can't get out of here. I'm stuck until I can either save up enough money to get out or my family decides to move. If I dropped out of school, sure, I could move out, but I'd still be stuck in the same, crappy, low income situation, this time with even less money because I'd be paying at least $700 a month for utilities and rent, which, in Michigan is cheap.
You say "move" like it's just that easy to pick up and go. I'd love to move, but I haven't got the kind of resources to do so, and I'm sure some of us have the same type of situation.
I'm surprised, because as a British person, I kinda figured you'd have at least
heard about how the gun ban in Britain
isn't working.
Gun crime is up 40%, knife crimes are rising because people without any clue how to properly defend themselves think that just by carrying it they're safe.
Most of us Americans aren't just a bunch of gun crazy wa-hoos that just walk into a corner store, buy a gun, and then go shoot up the neighborhood. In fact, the people that own guns legally are
less likely to use them for anything other than sport or self defense, and the fact that people are allowed to carry guns is quite a powerful deterrent for most would be criminals.
If a mugger has a gun, and they're not legal where you live, odds are, at worst, you'll have a knife, and that's not going to stop him from jacking your stuff, your loved ones, or even your life. The police aren't going to protect you,
it's not their job to protect you
Kinda sad that Gordon Brown and the rest of the British government doesn't seem to see that these bans aren't stopping criminals from using guns, but they sure are increasing the rate that the criminals are using them at.
The bad guys will always have guns, and with gun bans, the law abiding citizens are the ones that suffer.