Originally Posted by Zeus

Now you're creeping me out..lol.

I was thinking about this and I think it really depends on where you live and crime levels/environment.

If I lived in a gangland area of LA, I'd probably have a change of heart in my viewpoints, and I'd be packing a Glock.

In contrast, where I grew up in Canada, we rarely locked our front door. I still only lock it at night. We didn't even use a deadbolt on our family home for years. The threat was never there. Guns were just not a part of life - we rarely saw them and I only ever fired a real gun in my late teens. Same with our friends/relatives, etc. - guns were not a presence. We had rifles at cottages and farms, but more for pest control than protection.

Perhaps there is a luxury of innocence implicit in this, and if so, I'm glad it still exists - whether in part, whole, or imagined.

Originally Posted by OMEGAMAN

How about gangland Vancouver? That place is getting out of control yet it has strict gun laws.

Originally Posted by Zeus

There are always exceptions to the generalizations, and this is certainly one. They've had their share of gang-related violence recently, however I think perspective plays a fair share in terms of media coverage. It is still a very safe city, the shootings and murders have largely been gang-member related.

The response from citizens that I've seen and read about, however, has not been to arm themselves, but rather a rallying to call for tougher legislation and more power to the police to fight the gang issue.

Vancouver is a hub for the drug trade, no doubt about it. Big business, gangs fight for control. All that premium BC weed needs to get exported after all...

But that's another story...