Yes that is what I want for the US.

I've always found the 'right to bear arms' discussion very interesting. I spent most of my childhood in the USA, where I was exposed to guns. We never owned one, and while I can't remember my parents making any grand statements about guns, I suspect that they weren't enthusiasts.

When I was younger, I was vehemently anti gun. My opinion was simply based on the logic that guns killed, maimed and hurt people and that those things were wrong. When you are young, things are very black and white and ideals can be passionate. I lived in the UK and at that time, there really were no guns around. That changed and there is now a vibrant gun culture in the cities of England.

Looking back, I have seen guns used for good things and bad things. I find guns terrifying and I find the responsibility of owning a gun even more terrifying. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I owned a gun. The huge responsibility would weigh on me too heavily.

I would constantly wonder if I would be able to trust myself to make a sensible decision about whether to maim or kill another human being. Or, to be responsible by negilgence for the maiming or killing of another human being.

The only time I could imagine myself weilding a gun would be if I were scared. I, like most people without specialist training, could not be relied upon to make the right decision while scared. The only way that I could ever justify shooting someone would be if my life were in danger. I couldn't live with myself if I maimed or killed a drunken 16 year old that stupidly came over my fence. My life is worth taking another life, material possessions would never, with the values that I hold true, be worth taking another life for.

I realise that other people do not have this opinion and would be quite happy to shoot someone to protect their material possessions. That is entirely up to them and I would never dream of telling them, given that guns are pretty freely available and there is no hope of them ever disappearing, that they weren't entitled to have a gun and use it as they see fit, as long as it is used within the law of whatever land they happen to occupy.

Gun ownership is just way too much of a responsibility for me. One can only hope that those who choose to own guns realise what a big responsibility it should be for them.

Thanks for that Collyk.
I'm the other side of the coin, born with guns everyone had one and shot them regularly.I was issued an M1 rifle at age 16 and had already owned many rifles ,pistols and shot gun before that.
I still have a fearful respect for them especially in the hands of the young and stupid.
Your right the guns will never go away.
I've enjoyed the people of Belize not having lots of guns around and the government having strict gun control, but I'm afraid thats history.
I enjoyed it then, but if every Tom ,Dick and Harry is going armed .I'm afraid I have to also. It works like the arms race we had with Russia. grows and grows.

I'm with you Elbert. I grew up with guns,(father avid gun collector) and he instilled upon me at a very young age, that the most dangerous gun is an unloaded one. (meaning, that most people think a gun is unloaded but it's not) I have several in my home and I target practice with them from time to time, just to stay used to using them. I pray to God that I NEVER have to use one on a human being. I quit hunting years ago, as I could not take the pain of killing for meat. I go to to the grocery store instead. (yes, I DO realize that the meat I'm eating from the store was once alive, but I DON'T have to look that animal in the eye before I kill it.) I can understand peoples fears of guns, I have a high regard for them, BUT, if there were to ever come a time, that some deranged person were to break into my home and threaten my life, well as the saying goes, "if it's them or me..... it WILL be them". Another wise suggestion from my father.... "if you EVER have to draw a gun on someone, make damn sure you use it", meaning, if you don't use it on them, they can overpower you and use it on you (heck you don't have to kill them, shoot off a knee cap!) .... just a little crumb for thought. I personally wish we could ALL live in peace and harmony, but that is not human nature. So, as long as I am able to protect MYSELF as I see fit, live and let live.

I'll be sure to knock first when I come to visit, Spurs!!

Elbert, I completely understand where you are coming from. DCG likewise. I think about a crazed maniac breaking into my house about as often as I worry about being bitten by a rabid dog. Not very often. If I started to worry about it or ever felt that I was in so much fear for my safety that I needed a gun, I probably would need to be living elsewhere. Nevertheless, I believe strongly personal freedom and privacy and would never judge anyone for exercising their rights or protecting themselves or their family in the way they believe is best for them.

Please don't think I am naive. Violent crime was prevelant in the area I lived in before I lived in Belize. My direct neighbours across the road were victims of an armed home invasion in the middle of the night and we regularly had crack addicts banging on the door. The burglary rate for homes in the area was about 50%.

I try to take reasonable precautions in respect to my safety. I wouldn't stand on a golf course with an umbrella during a lightening storm - hence I don't really think about being hit by lightening. I wouldn't snorkel where someone was chumming sharks, so I don't worry much about being attacked by a shark.

I suppose I rank my likelihood of being a position where I could effectively use a gun to protect my life as being really low. I rank the risk of an accident happening if I had a gun in my house as somewhat higher. Maybe the odds I present are not based on fact; I have no idea, but they suit me.

Colly, I really appreciate your approach. I agree with you in terms of not wanting to impose one's own beliefs regardig gun ownership on others. My decision not to respond to violence with violence is based on personal religious convictions and I would not expect everyone to agree. For those who elect a different approach, I do appreciate knowing that they do so with a sense of responsibility and carefulness. Unfortunately, that is often not enough. I have seen far too many situations where people thought they had acted with all due care yet an innocent victim suffered firearm injury or death. In no small number of those cases the victim was the gun owner. Like you, it's a risk I would not be willing to take.

Leah Ann, I do not lack hope, but I do not trust that these idiots will ever change. Mikey, I "assume" your great police force is unlike any in the country, and are just waiting to come to your aid. Please don't count on them getting there in time, all it takes is once.

I would like to state that I have the greatest respect for the police of our country. they do a job that needs to be done. That said, they cannot be everywhere all the time, and their adversaries outnumber them immensely. They are there because they are NEEDED. They are needed, um, because why? That is my point, and my personal convictions on how to live my life is not going to magically change things. Leah Ann, I hope you never get into the position where your convictions are put to the test. You will either honor your convictions and suffer, or you will change your conviction. Either way, I lose something in a friend I value.

I agree Bobber. And with energy prices rising I have read numerous reports of police forces cutting back drastically on patrols. I have several guns in my home and have used them for sport my entire life. I pray I never have to use them for anything else, but I would if necessary.