Quote Originally Posted by Gofer Blue View Post
I believe you get the kind of society you deserve. If, apparently, the majority of the American population are happy for everyone to own a gun for their own protection (against whom - it depends who you ask it seems?) then all it takes is a tiny minority of that population with some warped mentality to cause mayhem. The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing (Edmund Burke).

I had a cousin in Pennsylvania whose husband kept a rifle at home. A perfectly normal bloke, he used it for hunting but told me he was perfectly prepared to use it to defend his home. I remember visiting them just after the famous Tony Martin case (the guy in Norwich who shot two burglars in his house) and he was gobsmacked when I told him that this guy had been arrested and jailed for killing the burglar, something which he (cousin) would have done without hesitation!
I met a guy in Texas who shot dead a Mexican who had broken into his home (and got away with it scot-free) and a militia man who was convinced that the UN's intention was to take over the world and that he would be ready for them. He also thought that European leaders were communist. And who was out Prime Minister at the time? Margaret Thatcher. To think that such people have access to guns is truly frightening.