"There are plenty of guns in the US and the crime rate is high (so clearly, something isn't working perfectly)."

Of course! Americans tend to be poorly educated, our court system has nothing to do with justice, and we have a farce called The War on Drugs.

But if guns were outlawed across the U.S. today, the results would be disastrous. Why? Two words: RESPONSE TIME. I live in a county comprised of 727 sq. miles. The last I heard, we had six deputies on duty at any given time. If they're busy with a violent domestic incident or a drunk with a weapon, I'm SOL.

If there were two relatively high-class gated communities across the road from each other, and each had a sign, and one said "This is a gun-free neighborhood" and the other said "This neighborhood is insured by Smith & Wesson, Glock and Colt, which would a criminal choose? They're not all totally stupid.

Know how to use it, willing to use it, know the difference between right and wrong, and no weapon. A bad place to be.

Sue