The Iron Yuppie

Instapundit.com -Self-defense in Britain

Fascinating aspect about the difference in burglaries between the US and England/Wales is not the use of weapons in the US. It's actually just the possible presence of weapons that deters the criminals. In the US guns cause 100 times more deaths per 100,000 people than in England and Wales. In fact, the ideal, though logically impossible situation, would be to both have guns in every home and not have any guns at all. I am pro personal ownership of guns, though I have always been very concerned with the culture of guns in the US. They seem to be nearly too ubiquitous... how else would so many people be killed every year by them? Though always hesitant to believe Michael Moore, I was fairly intrigued with the Bowling for Columbine stats regarding Canada v. the US. Canada appears to have as many or more weapons per capita than the US yet suffers less crime and less gun deaths. Exactly why this is, I have no idea. If I had one thought, I would prefer that handguns & assault weapons be limited and only rifles and shotguns to be used more broadly. I just do not see a use for private ownership of certain types of weapons. You can defend yourself pretty well in your home with a shotgun... handguns and assault weapons just seem to be recipes for disaster.