UF, the demographics in the USA are far, far different than in Europe.
Yes, we know. You have unspoken apartheid in many of your cities. Your country was built on immigration, yet some of you want to turn your back on that fine tradition.
First off, we have a terrific Constitution and Bill of Rights that makes us equal to government....not subservient to them.
You are as subservient to your government as we are to ours in that we all have to respect the laws of the land. We both elect our representatives, so I don't really get your point.
I submit that you have been exceedingly lucky and dangerous situations are far more prevalent in Europe than you realize or will admit.
I beg to differ. I've never been in a European city where I've been told, "Don't go there it's black, don't go there it's latino" etc. as I have in the States. It is also only in the US where I have ever felt that being a white woman out with a black man might be a dangerous situation, where it got me vitriolic abuse from total strangers. Please provide evidence for your asertion "dangerous situations are far more prevalent in Europe" I am not claiming Europe is a crime-free zone, as you claim the rural USA is (a claim which I doubt), but would love to see evidence of your claims.
For example Mickey, the US ranks 91st in world muder rates whilst the UK ranks 176th, Belgium 193rd, France 194th, Germany 195th, Luxembourg 197th, The Netherlands 199th, Swtzerland 200th and so on. Even lawless Albania with it's mafia problems and tribal feuding only comes in at 177th. (Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime).
Please Mickey, cite us some empirical evidence, not shock horror news reports often from tabloid sources, which present rare horrific events as every European's everyday experience. Given that you rely on such sources, I would suggest that your view is somewhat distorted.
Women in the US have parallel opinions to yours. They "feel" safe, they "don't" need a gun. Nothing ever happens here where they are at. Until it does.
I'm not sure many Europeans think that "Nothing ever happens here" as that's somewhat naïve, like your belief that rural USA is virtually crime free. But look at the stats above, plus the fact we mostly get along fine without guns.
I'm sure all the victims in Nice, Paris and Brussels thought the same as you....until they got dead or seriously injured.
I'm not sure dead people can still think. I don't see mass demands for gun ownership in the light of these atrocities, quite the contrary.
Most everyone I talked to in Oregon after the horrific UCC shooting, said the same thing......"Nothing ever happens here"
or..."Who needs a gun around here?"
If you look at the loss of life from mass shootings in the US, they pale in comparison, to the negligence by doctors and hospitals, leading to death. Or traffic fatalities, or drownings, or poisons accessed by children.
Licensed doctors still kill people. Licensed drivers keep killing people. And...Professionals....kill people.
That Mickey is a wild claim. Please prove it with figures. Very few doctors "kill" people, but mistakes do happen as error is human. All the more reason NOT to allow gun ownership.
All the states have different requirements as to gun ownership. Some are more stringent than others. Owning a gun and being proficient with it, is not rocket science and requires less skill than driving a motor vehicle. And yet.....we have countless drunk driving offenses here and now even more problems with the stupid legalization of marijuana. By licensed drivers no less! Go figure.
I would advocate the kinds of stringent drink/driving regulations and penalties that they implement in Sweden, with great success. However you are comparing apples with oranges. The main use of a car is to get you from A to B. The main use of a gun is to maim or kill.
7 states have no restrictions at all, on carrying of a concealed weapon, as long as you are a resident of that state. That's Freedom UF....Freedom to do as we damn please within the law.
Freedom to get killed by a gun-toting maniac.
Would you advocate anarchy in the name of "freedom"?
My freedom comes with responsibilities, and one of those is that I don't carry an offensive weapon.