Americans have long convinced themselves that there is a link between guns and overall freedom. The more guns there are in the hands of individuals, the more difficult it would be for a dictator to take power.
This is the freedom guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution, passed in 1791.
They argue still over the precise meaning of the words, but it is the wrong argument.
The real argument should be whether civilised societies in the modern age are made safer by guns, but that argument seems beyond America.
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Perhaps that is America’s problem, too many opportunities to avoid the hard questions. Can this contentment last forever? When I lived here, I thought it could. Now, just visiting, I wonder.
via BBC News – Gun habit takes hold in neighbourhood of unlocked doors. Wonderful point BBC.