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I am not one of those who think we need guns to take on our own government, but I don't think you are fully taking into consideration how a fight against the government would work. History is full of examples of local populations doing quite well against militarily superior forces. Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq are recent examples. Were the US government to use nuclear weapons the story would be different, but that is not a likely scenario against its own population. The US government even backs down against the threat of violence from even a few of its citizens (see Cliven Bundy). For how long did the Brits fight the Irish, or many of the countries in its former empire? In all out war, the US would likely beat its population into submission in short order, but all out war is unlikely.

Wait. What? Nature is neither 'right' nor 'wrong'. Those words do not apply.

Got it. Yes, that makes sense.

I'm not sure we should assume anything. I imagine we could use real data to get a pretty good idea of what you are asking. Once you get your answer, are you proposing a specific action that depends on which number is greater?

I think that part of the reason that those outside the US can't understand us, is that they are under the impression we are 'gun slinging' Americans. Most of us are not. But even the gun-slingers don't want criminals or those who don't know how to store dangerous items to have guns. Maybe it is just Americans who feel this way, but if someone has already decided to commit a crime against me (say, by breaking into my house), I am not going to count on his good will to not harm me. It is a fluid document that can be changed as the needs demand it. But the need must be seen by a majority of Americans, not a majority of Europeans. And at this time, Americans don't think the needs demand it. Most Americans with guns are not using them for nefarious reasons. For them, it seems kind of silly to punish the innocent along with the guilty.

At least most people in this thread are debating based on logic instead of emotion as you are.

I often hear people who want the 2nd Amendment changed, suggest that those who support gun rights pretend the Constitution is written in stone. I never actually hear supporters of gun rights act as if the Constitution is written in stone. While I agree with your entire post Ten oz, I find that last statement to be a criticism of gun rights advocates that has little merit.

The 'right' does not kill innocent people. And I don't think anyone here is suggesting that all rights should necessarily be there for eternity.

"Purpose" is irrelevant and a red herring. It is risk that matters. And for the record, skiers DO kill other people.

Yes. Everyone knows that. No one is arguing against that. You are arguing against no one, and I am unsure why you keep repeating it. Every time someone buys a bowling ball instead of skis they don't lead to someone dying in a ski accident. Or perhaps they thought "it won't happen to me"; but everyone whose kid dies in a ski accident bought the skis thinking "it won't happen to me" - but it did. The way to avoid ski accidents is to not have skis.

You seem to be dismissive of my point, which makes me think you missed it. Obviously those bad things happen with guns; I read the papers too. But for MOST people, their guns are not used to kill people. And I believe that has a lot to do with why there is no 'culture of fear' in the US. As far as I can tell, that difference went to the heart of ajb's question.

I am middle to upper middle class and live in a suburb of St. Louis, which has a pretty high murder rate compared to most cities in the US. I own about a dozen guns, both handguns and long guns. I also have a license to carry concealed weapons. I am not the least bit afraid either in my home or when moving about the metropolitan area, but the lack of fear has nothing to do with my guns. I never carry them, and while having a gun in the house fits with my "be prepared" type of personality, I'd feel perfectly at ease not having any guns in the house. I also don't know anyone who is generally afraid, although I imagine there are plenty of people who live in 'bad' neighborhoods who may feel differently. My experience has been that most violent crime is committed by bad people against other bad people, and as long as I'm not doing things like dealing drugs I imagine that my lifelong streak of never being burgled, assaulted, or robbed will continue. I believe most people who have guns generally own them because they are something that is available to them, and are a form of recreation, either hunting or target shooting. Not much different than owning skis or a gaming system or a meat smoker. Most people are not criminals or 'preppers' preparing for the zombie apocalypse. I know there are plenty of people who are fearful and are at risk of assault and don't want to minimize that, but I don't find a general fear permeating the population at all. I also believe the people who are at most risk tend to be poor. I would be no more fearful traveling in New York City than I would traveling in London or Amsterdam.

Unless things have just changed, Mallinckrodt imports their medical isotopes from The Netherlands.

I don't know their reasoning, but perhaps it is because it is a complicated issue and they are simply doing the best they can reconciling religious, personal, and scientific issues. I think they have made it clear that while they are not dismissive of science, they will not simply simply "trust scientists to do the right thing". And I cannot find fault with that stance. I don't believe that ANY group of people should simply be trusted to do the right thing. Perhaps 'trust but verify'. Too many examples of people NOT doing the right thing.

Are you a member of the Lutheran Church of the Missouri Synod? If not, why is it important to you where they draw the line on what is and what is not human life? Not everyone believes life begins at conception. Given that science cannot say with certainty when human life begins, it seems rather progressive to me that these Lutherans are not pretending like they do know.

Which churches allow birth control that involves the destruction of the "embryo" but do not allow stem cell research?

A recent healthcare trend is remote technology to allow seniors stay at home longer before requiring assisted living, and allowing family to monitor from a distance. Examples include wearable devices that transmit health data, track the location of people, and even whether or not they have fallen. There are also small devices which can tell you if door are being opened, and even if someone has opened their pill box. http://www.hl7standards.com/blog/2014/09/18/trends-aging-wearable-tech/

I usually try to keep my comments here a little more dignified, but I'm going to make an exception in this case. SUCK IT, HATERS! Ah, that felt good.

"Psychopath" has a very specific meaning. Unless you are qualified to judge psychopathy and have done the proper studies yourself, the only way to know who are psychopaths is to get the information from others.

I think you are confusing hunting for pleasure and killing for pleasure. Your typical hunter is not someone who used to torture cats when he was 9 1/2 years old. Yes, you really have to.

Is there really a consensus for that? I've been having sex for 40 years and in that entire time, there were exactly two occasions when it was done for procreation.

In my opinion the only way we can follow the British model of unarmed officers is if we follow the British model of unarmed citizenry. Unfortunately I don't see that happening either.

Which part? Someone with a gun? Being in a bad part of town? Having something of value on me? I guess I don't get the distinction you are making between an imminent threat of harm (what a reasonable person would think) and 'fear, suspicion, or possibility of harm'. Can you please expand on this a bit?

Then per Ten oz I can either hope that when he raises his gun at me he won't actually shoot, or I can shoot him first and risk breaking the law if he didn't have any bullets in the gun. Sounds rather unfair to me.