The British have something to say to us Americans!, page 19

Our "fear" is Your reality.... becoming criminal prey and not being able to defend yourselves. I hope every one of my neighbors are armed.

That is the primary difference between the US and UK (from the opinions I have read on the boards).

We could care less if a criminal is shot.. It is deterrent. We Hope our neighbors are armed and defend themselves not to mention we usually band together when crisis strikes. The UK on the other hand seems to be in fear of their neighbors .... go figure. You turn on each other it seems and your neighbor is perceived to be more of a threat than the gangs of criminals that roam the streets, break in your houses, loot your stuff. So many naive idiots (in my opinion).

Our fear is we don't want to turn into you!

25 years murder-free
in 'Gun Town USA'
Crime rate plummeted after law
required firearms for residents

In March 1982, 25 years ago, the small town of Kennesaw – responding to a handgun ban in Morton Grove, Ill. – unanimously passed an ordinance requiring each head of household to own and maintain a gun. Since then, despite dire predictions of "Wild West" showdowns and increased violence and accidents, not a single resident has been involved in a fatal shooting – as a victim, attacker or defender.

The crime rate initially plummeted for several years after the passage of the ordinance, with the 2005 per capita crime rate actually significantly lower than it was in 1981, the year before passage of the law.

Prior to enactment of the law, Kennesaw had a population of just 5,242 but a crime rate significantly higher (4,332 per 100,000) than the national average (3,899 per 100,000). The latest statistics available – for the year 2005 – show the rate at 2,027 per 100,000. Meanwhile, the population has skyrocketed to 28,189.

By comparison, the population of Morton Grove, the first city in Illinois to adopt a gun ban for anyone other than police officers, has actually dropped slightly and stands at 22,202, according to 2005 statistics. More significantly, perhaps, the city's crime rate increased by 15.7 percent immediately after the gun ban, even though the overall crime rate in Cook County rose only 3 percent. Today, by comparison, the township's crime rate stands at 2,268 per 100,000.

This was not what some predicted.

In a column titled "Gun Town USA," Art Buchwald suggested Kennesaw would soon become a place where routine disagreements between neighbors would be settled in shootouts. The Washington Post mocked Kennesaw as "the brave little city … soon to be pistol-packing capital of the world." Phil Donahue invited the mayor on his show.

Reuters, the European news service, today revisited the Kennesaw controversy following the Virginia Tech Massacre.

Police Lt. Craig Graydon said: "When the Kennesaw law was passed in 1982 there was a substantial drop in crime … and we have maintained a really low crime rate since then. We are sure it is one of the lowest (crime) towns in the metro area." Kennesaw is just north of Atlanta.

So, Yes we WANT our neighbors to be armed. We want criminals to know that "nothing you may want to steal is worth YOUR life".

That is the idea dummies. You just continue to be victims over there, leave your sheds open for criminals and be prey. It gives us a great model for the argument AGAINST gun control. Not to be mean but really I hope you see the light and opt to defend yourselves and give your neighbors a little credit but if you are to the point that you truly fear your law abiding neighbors more than the consequences that it may be to late for you. You will live in a prison of fear and paranoia where the criminals are the wardens... and the law.

[edit on 14-2-2009 by infolurker]