Since I was asked Im going to answer this with full disclosure Im Australian not American. Ive visited the US but not been exposed to the socalled gun culture while there. Ive never seen someone gunned down in the street but I have met people who have witnessed this. On the top of my head I cant think of anyone I have known personally who died from a gunrelated injury. I follow US politics along with other countries I take an interest in. Im generally a pacifist with fine print and dont like violence as a solution to problems but recognise that some ideals are not pragmatic and appropriate and proportionate violence can sometimes be justified in selfdefence. I feel very safe where I live. There are few places in Australia where I would not feel safe walking around even at night. There are exceptions and if I were female there would be more exceptions but even in areas of higher crime the chances of being subject to gun crime are very low. I have friends with guns primarily in the country for hunting or controlling pest animals. And they lock them up. If they dont lock them up and get caught they would probably lose their license or pay a very heavy fine. They only have licenses because they are sane and have some need for them and they cannot buy an uzi or any other functioning automatic weapon or assault weapon period. The gunrelated death rate per capita in the US is almost ten times more than in Australia. Australia has had THREE recorded deaths in school or college shootings ever compared with around 300 in the US. For context our population is around 113 the US population. This is not my argument this is just the background Im answering from.To answer this question the different types and roles of guns need to beconsidered and this is not exhaustive Do farmers need guns Absolutely. One or two rifles andor shotguns should cover it. Do hunters need guns Professional hunters for food and wildlife management absolutely rifles and shotguns should also cover it. Hobby hunters this is not a need as such but this aspect of US culture is not going away overnight and Canada has demonstrated that you can have a healthy hunting culture without killing each other. Once again rifles and shotguns should suffice and should be kept locked and unloaded when not in use. Caught with them unlocked Lose your license for ten years thatll learn ya. This applies to any group. Do privatehobby militia groups need guns Well does your country need hobby militias Is there some purpose they serve that your police and military dont Generally when militias fight with the police or military youre in a civil war. Or the militias are terrorists depending on how you want to frame it. Are you planning a civil war Do you want training camps that skill people up for urban warfare without due consideration for their state of mind or motivations Is such a group functionally any different from a training camp in say Afghanistan And in cases where government abuse gets out of control as Jason Alexander framed it do you really think your military your own sons and brothers will turn against you If so the brainwashing of your sons is a bigger problem. And finally if your government does become ridiculously corrupt and authoritarian perish the thought is violent overthrow an appropriate response in a democracy and if so whose call is that Who prevents someone else from making that call out of political frustration or insanity And how does that end For reference Cf. Arab Spring. For me thats a no. Do police need guns British police got by without them for a long time. But I wouldnt be a cop in the US without one something about being at the top of the food chain and dealing with violent unstable people. Do some police departments need to be reined in Absolutely. But thats a question of culture prejudice and directives not guns. Do everyday people need guns for fun No. There are plenty of other lessdangeroustoothers ways to have fun. That said Id leave a little wiggle room for responsible pistol hobbyists with the same caveat on safe storage as hunters and farmers. Does anyone younger than say 12 years old need a gun Hell no. Should they be trained in their safe handling No they shouldnt have access to them in the first place. Should they be trained in safe avoidance if theyre around guns Absolutely. Do everyday people need guns for self defenceFor me this is where it gets difficult. In my safe neighbourhood it is easyto say absolutely not. But notwithstanding any possible statistics onactualcrimespreventedbyguns or lack thereof in a neighbourhood wheregun crime is rife I can totally appreciate why people may feel the need toarm themselves. And you dont want to be outgunned either a modest handgunis nothing in the face of an AK47. But this is the basis of the cold war on amicro scale. Or to put in another way keeping up with the Joneses arsenal.It ultimately means there are bigger and badder guns out there waiting to beused against you. There is also the question of womens selfdefence which I am hardlyqualified to speak on indeed just a couple of days ago I had to step in tokeep a creepy drunk guy from hassling a woman who was walking down the street although I dont think a gun would have necessarily improved the outcome ifI wasnt there. Do women need to feel safe Yes. Do many mens attitudes towomen need to change Yes. Does arming women make them feel safe For someperhaps some people feel LESS safe knowing there is a gun in the house. Doesit change mens attitudes I dont think so. But I dont think there are anysimple shortterm solutions to this issue. In any case its Catch22. You are in danger in some places because dodgypeople have guns. You need guns because you are in danger so you are allowedto get them. Dodgy people have guns because you are allowed to get them.Disarmament faces the same problem as the cold war. Sorry if dodgy is a bittoo colloquial for this context Im just writing as I would say it. And not just dodgy people but also lovely people who have really bad days andlose their self control when some stupid punk cuts them off in traffic andhappen to have a gun handy. So that stupid punk better hope he has a gun inthe glovebox too. Someone is maybe gonna die anyway. But if neither had gunsbaddayguy would flip the bird and forget about it. But dodgy people and baddayguy aside he is a guy statistically speakingwhere does most intentional gun violence happen Or rather by whom Peoplewho feel marginalised. People who feel disrespected. People who feeldisempowered. And people who are trying to defend their turf in some way. Aslong as you have a culture that makes people feel this way you will haveviolence whether its out in the dilapidated projects or in some sleepy townhigh school. And as long as you have such violence people will feel they need guns todefend themselves. From experience it really is a good thing to not feel likeyou need to carry a gun and I think that is what you should be aiming for asa nation high levels of public safety without the need for guns. This is thesituation in most of the developed world I have seen much of the developedworld and felt very safe. The route to that path requires putting an end tothe arms race by limiting what guns can be bought in the first place. Itrequires a gradual disarmament of unnecessary assault weapons with buybacksandor amnesties. It requires tackling the issues of marginalisation thatencourage drug abuse and respectmedammit violence. And it requiressuspending oneeyed ideology for long enough to take a realistic look at whataccidents and teenage rampages could be prevented by better educationbackground checks sales regulation and tougher lockup laws with seriouspenalties and spot checks. My respectful 2c as a concerned outsider. I hope its constructive.