Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
That's the vicious circle, though, isn't it? Criminal has a gun because he thinks that victim will have a gun. Victim has a gun because he's afraid of armed criminals. I don't know how you can break out of that once it's established.
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Most criminals keep guns more for use against other criminals (which make up the bulk of U.S. shooting deaths). I don't know the statistics, but in my experience most legally acquired weapons are not kept for defense from criminals. Most individuals who own a couple of guns, they're hunting rifles, but the vast preponderance of legitimately owned firearms are in the hands of a few para-military militias, who keep them against the possibility of failure or abject corruption of the government (and because they like to play army).