Quote Originally Posted by swansonbb View Post
Cat - I was thinking about guns & Canada last night, strangely enough. My thoughts settled somewhere on the idea that rifles & shotguns can kill you just as effectively as a handgun, so what's the difference? Secondly, I kept thinking about that kid who was decapitated on that bus a few years back. The whole bus ran away. It would have been great if someone had been carrying.

I'm by no means an enthusiast, but being a parent has really changed my thoughts. As I see it, I have a moral obligation to protect my little girls. When my daughter was cornered by that dog, I felt largely incapable of defending her. Once was enough.

The world can be a scary place. I wish it wasn't that way - in fact, I'm happiest when I'm in places in which I feel no need to be armed. I've been looking into moving closer to my work over the last few weeks. Between the criminal reports at EVERY apartment complex (including recent armed home invasions in one of the nicer places) and the public records of the convicted pedos and rapists (not to mention the ones that were never caught) that live within a few blocks of every affordable rental house, having the ability to defend myself, and more importantly, my girls, seems more imporant than ever.
I agree, shot guns can kill you just as effectively, but no one carries them. That's the huge difference.


And that bus situation was a freak anomaly, but it would have been convenient if someone could have taken him down.

I don't think these are good reasons to own guns. Reading all your posts makes me feel like some of you guys live in rough areas. Here, where I live (even in Toronto) the homicide rate is very low, as is the robbery rate. Those rates account for all weapons used, as well, so the homicides and robberies by gun violence would be even lower.

I'm not telling you guys you shouldn't protect your families with guns - if it's legal, do whatever you want or need to do. I was just saying how interestingly different the gun culture is to our 2 countries, and that I'm glad I live north of the border instead of south.