As a response to the statement that "every other cunt in the states has one," that is as much a generalization as saying that everyone in the UK has horrible teeth or something like that. The only people on the board that have strong views about firearms are the ones that own them.
Just because your country is different and all uptight about their crime rate, which has gone up a significant amount in the past 15 years, does not mean that it is a correct way to live or better than any other way.
Crime here isn't so bad, I would bet that I live in a safer area than you do. I don't need a gun, I have never needed a gun, but I like to have them just in case I ever do. I cannot carry concealed weapons in my state. America isn't like the fucking wild west.
Security has something to do with owning a gun, but paranoia? C'mon, maybe some people, but not most.
I don't like to argue about guns because I feel like its the same as abortion and just keeps getting thrown about.
There is nothing wrong with guns, there is something wrong with people that use them for evil purposes, and by the way, most of those are unregistered, illegal and people with felonies already.
i'm not saying there's anything wrong with guns at all, no idea where you got that from. it's just a hobby in many respects.
if people have guns due to a fear of crime, yet have never had to use them would you not say that wasn't being paranoid? note that i'm not saying being paranoid is a bad thing either. it can help. going by what people are saying on here, allot of criminals have guns, so if every other cunt has a gun, i'd have one. it'd be irresponsible not to!
i really, really doubt you live in a safer area than i do.... crime on my estate is pretty much zero. maybe the odd bit of graffiti or littering, but that's it. don't know where you get your stats from about crime, perhaps the daily mail? if you're really bothered -
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime-victims/crime-statistics/ crime is down on last year.
we may have a lower murder rate than the usa, and a declining crime rate, but we have a higher theft and assualt rate. the proliferation of guns in the usa is a main factor in that, be they illegally owned or not.
so you can't carry a firearm, my friend in washington state has a permit to do so, but doesn't see the need to. he just likes to have the option. some of your laws vary from state to state.
i've no problems with guns, i've lived in countries where the police walk around with grenade launchers and citizens drive around tooled up. as long as it's a level playing field, it's not an issue for me.