The 2nd Amendment IS the guarantee of the 1st Amendment. Without the 2nd Amendment, there is nothing that can *insure* the continued existence of the 1st.
Make a list of death by knives and IEDs in those countries compared to the US. I met Commander Simon Foy a few years ago in London and he stated there were more murders commited per capita in the UK by knives than by Guns in th US. I do not know if this is true but that was what was stated.
A much more accurate comparison of overall violence could be demonstrated with this data: (in 2001) UK: 4.6 violent deaths per 100,000 USA: 7.9 Obviously then, what the UK lacks in gun homicides, it nearly makes up for with other weapons. If you break down regionally it gets even more interesting: Northern Ireland is the least violent part of the UK, but North Dakota is much less violent per person. Only 10 American states are more violent than Switzerland or Scotland, but Washington D.C. is six times more violent than either of them. The only sound conclusion one can draw from this data is that gun control law seems to have little to do with the overall violence rate in a nation. Washington D.C. has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, yet by far the worst violence. Many European nations with strict gun control have low violence rates, yet many nations with strict gun control have twice the violence or even ten times the violent murder rate of the United States.
Shooting is my passion, obsession, possesion. I shot many rounds of revolver, SLR, double barreled gun. Which gun you like.
Gun usage is strictly controlled in my country and never used a real one. Of course, played with a lot of toy guns when I was a kid
I'm getting an air rifle. Which (in Australia) requires a Category A firearms license, which also (and stupidly) allows me to buy any high powered hunting rifle that I want - when all I want is an air rifle! Still, if thems the hoops... I'll jump through 'em. I've never shot a 'real' gun, and have no desire to do so.
Well, If Hunting guns count then YES, I did and Don't we have a many pages, same titled thread like this ?!