Shaggystu,

Thank you for keeping the discussion measured.

While I applaud you for being open-minded enough to ask the question, I'm afraid I have to say that I regard the basis of the question as fundamentally flawed. Let me see if I can explain why.

You are, in effect, asking us to convince you that you should want to "own or carry weapons"... but that isn't at all the position we're taking on the issue. No one (that I'm aware of) feels that you should NOT have the right to make that determination for yourself. If you percieve no need for weapons in your life, we have no real interest in persuading you otherwise. We may indeed have misgivings that fate may change your mind for you later on, but it's entirely your decision, not ours.

We'd just much rather you didn't make the decision for all of us.

That is part of the essential difference between the two "camps" on this issue... those who are defending the right to own weapons are emphatically NOT trying to impose their decisions on everyone else, while those who want to deny that right are intent on exactly that- making that decision for all people, for all time, regardless of past, present or future circumstances. In essence, they are saying that they are so much wiser than you that they have the right to make the decision for you, regardless of your opinion of your opinion on the matter- and enforce it by violence, if necessary.

I think you will find that this is true across the board. Those who acknowledge your right to self-defense also respect the people's right to self-detemination, and the rights of others in general. Those who deny the right to self-defense feel that they also should, by rights, be able to make many, many other decisions for everyone else as well... because we're just obviously "wrong" and they're obviosly "right", and anyone who disagrees with them just isn't listening...