Re: Hug your children - now.
I’m very grateful to be in New Zealand where even the police don’t carry guns. Now THAT makes me feel safer.
Many interesting points in this thread, but the "feeling" issue is quite essential.
Now when I go back to my country, where even traffic wardens sometimes carry guns, I feel threatened, while the English Bobbies makes me proud of living in this country.
In the American society, where they still have the "sheriff" I saw in cowboy movies celebrating the fastest gun, violence is the answer against the baddies.
It is a strong cultural problem, than would take decades to change, but needs to be addressed. Shooting in the eye Bin Laden, or hanging Saddam didn't help much to change this attitude (I am just talking about the effect of these action on the culture of violence).
In the meantime, allowing assault rifles in a country that regards violence as a solution of conflicts is looking for troubles.
If they ban guns, the baddie will still find a way to get them (no change, then), but the dangerous psychopaths maybe will not have such an easy access to assault rifles next time they feel misunderstood.