Originally posted by Boomyal:<br /> Not criticism, Dunaruna, just surprise and that out of concern for my fair cousins. Self defense and sport is a small part of the justification of owning firearms. Although I lock my door at night I do not live in fear for personal safety. There could be some places that I might go, where that is not the case, however.<br /><br />We both eminated from the same root, albiet under different circumstances. Our Fore Fathers, very wisely, understood what can happen to a population who was without arms. It had little to do with personal safety. Our right to bear arms was written into the Constitution as a safeguard against both foreign and domestic governments that would try to subjugate our citizenry.<br /><br />It is an understanding that is no less valid today. As a previous poster noted, the Japanese would not have attempted to invade the U.S. because of the armed citizenry. The Germans, in part, did not invade Switzerland due to the high calculated cost of an armed citizenry. When Hitler threatened to invade England, they were more that happy to accept donated arms from the personal arsenals of American Citizens. A small group of armed Jews kept the Nazis at bay, in Poland, for six weeks before they ran out of ammunition and were overwhelmed. And they died without the humiliation, suffering and pain that would have been suffered in the concentration camps.<br /><br />History is rife with examples of populations being disarmed before they were subjugated, or simply overrun because they were not armed.<br /><br />I do not live in fear of this happening to me. Gun ownership, by responsible citizens, is simply a right given us for good reasons. And I for one intend on doing my utmost to retain that right. If my Government does not trust me, then I certainly do not trust my Government.<br /><br />For as similar as we are, I have learned that there are signifigant differences as well. I do not mean this, either, as a criticism. Just an observation. It appears that Australians are just more comfortable with a lot of forms of regulation that Americans, todate, would not stand for. To allow for personal choice, in the matter, no American is forced to own firearms either.