Um, I think there's a few generations of Irishmen who would contend that the police are well armed and quite willing to use lethal force on a regular basis.

I would say that in the more rural areas the trend to more traditional values serves to diminish the propensity for members of that community to assail one another. Your citations seem to fit this model well, as do many places in rural America still. Likewise, these communities tend to watch out for the welfare of their members more diligently, so the chance that one will fall prey to the outside terrors is also greatly diminished.

There is still a great deal of gun crime in Great Britain, and it has diminished from what it was, and where the crime is most concentrated you will find the police armed more frequently and heavily than elsewhere. That does not change the issue, which is that when the law abiding citizen is confronted by an armed maniac, they can choose pre-emptively to either break the law or become a victim. I know which way I will choose every time.

As for students having the will to carry, let alone use a firearm in school, I know at least two girls who would have no issue with either case. Whether to pack a gun or not out of convenience is really not a significant issue, regardless of the time of day or the environment. Once you make accomodation for it, you find that it is a non-sequitor decision after that. Put another way, if you are going to hod around 30 lbs of notebooks and such, then the extra weight and bulk of a firearm is not much of a factor. To my mind it is cheap insurance, especially if no one ever checks your bags or person. The much tougher decision is whether or not you have the will or desire to defend yourself when no one else can or will. Once you get past that hurdle, then the convenience issue is really kinda moot.