Well i am fervently anti-gun. I am certainly a pacifist and fortunately i have never regretted the decision.

I have always been surprised at the apparent lawlessness in the US that requires everybody to own a gun. Could it be that your lawlessness is further aggravated by the proliferation of guns?

The 2nd amendment that you hold so dear was a necessity of the time in which it was created. To own a gun back in the day was as much a necessity as it was a statement of your individual liberty.

But that was the wild west. That was when you hunted for your food, when law-enforcers were few and far between , and justice was what you could win for yourself. But today you have law-enforcement agencies, you have a criminal system and you have your constitutionally assured rights. And you don't need a gun to avail any of them. The ONLY REASON you could possibly need a gun is for personal safety. On the other hand your personal safety is threatened by the amount of guns in the market.. so you go get yourself a bigger gun.. that's when the criminal gets and EVEN BIGGER gun. Dammit you NEED guns because OTHER people have guns.

But if NOBODY had guns you would still be free american citizens with your constitutionaly assured rights, with a system that assists you in claiming these rights.. only you wouldn't be as likely to kill or be killed by a gun.

I think you are selling your society severely short by assuming that those conditions still exist.

The basic argument i hear from gun-supporters is that there are evil people out there who want my stuff and i have the right to defend it. So i have a suggestion. How about legislation that completely bans people from carrying guns around with them. If you need a gun to protect your family, then keep the gun at home and use it when your property is being violated. The advantage of such legislation is that anybody using a gun outside their premises will immediately be censured. The gun then can only be used as a method of self defence, because you are not allowed to take your firearm out and about.

The ABSENCE of lethal weaponry ( which is designed only to KILL - as opposed to cars and power tools) directly affects the number of deaths. No guns means no gun murders.

Now you may claim that the criminals can always get guns. Well yes they can NOW, because getting a gun int he US is easier than getting a driving license. EVERY nation has its rapists, murderers and thieves.. but not every nation has the same number of guns and gun murders that the US does. Ever thought why that is so?