

	That's OK -- you can mail me if you want more discussion.


	Around here, long-guns are proof of age and fill out the forms.
For pistols, nation-wide check for felonies and three days wait.  The
"good reason" is the difference, and one Americans tend to get annoyed
over as we see no reason the guy with the badge is any better than us.


	Not when dealing with America.  I can drive an 18-wheel truck
with no permit, no license, and at age 12 if I'm engaged in farming
work.  Strange, that, but there is little to no problem with this.
Again, personal rights versus collective security.


	Strange that the rates would decline, since killing somebody
is much more frowned upon than merely stealing a gun.


	Why attract attention?  I carry my sword openly to and from
practice, as that is the only legal thing I can do.  I also attract
a lot of attention doing this.  I'd rather be lost "in a crowd of one"
than be the subject of attention while carrying a weapon.  Think of
the word "intimidation" and you can see where intimidation is not
the preferable method for the normal citizen.


	Aggressive towards whom?  Southerners?  Germans?  Precisely
why I think your society is less violent, weapons aside.


	Then the masses have the same rights as the individuals, because
everything comes down to the individual in one instance or another.  To
draw an analogy, Norway is involved in the EEC.  The USA in involved in
NATO.  The EEC requires certain changes in your laws.  NATO requires
no such changes in USA law.  These laws affect citizens, and hence
Norway is saying Europe is more important than, say, Norwegians having
motorcycles that make over 100bhp.  In the USA, we'd likely tell the
EEC to get stuffed since the EEC has no business, in our eyes, in
telling us how much horsepower we can safely ride.  While I note
that our own state governments often play with game with the federal
government, in essence this is a cultural difference between us.


	It shouldn't.  Since neither of our countries has managed to
remove criminals from society, in America we feel (and remember we
have individual states that are larger than your country) that if the
police cannot protect us then we must do so ourselves.  The criminals
in our country are quite violent, hence we prepare for them.


	We don't.  E-mail me to find out just how difficult it really
is in this country.  It is easier than in yours, but theft is far
easier than the troubles we go through to purchase over here.


	They are neither.  They are an option.  We would never force
you to own guns if you lived here.  We would, however, fight to keep
that option open to you.


	Then you show you are a responsible, rational user of weapons.
Welcome to our ranks.  Now, how do we teach the young people this sort
of responsibility?  Cultures seem to have a grave impact here.

	I notice you didn't use my great-grandfather's name.  Well,
he didn't like it much either ;-)