I'm from the UK where debates about guns don't exist.

[Honeycombe8]

104. The U.S. is different from the UK.

First, we have more crime. There are a lot of reasons for this. But whatever the reasons, that is the case.

Second, once you accept that some bad people might just kick in your door one day to rob and rape and kill you, then you start to thinking about how to protect yourself. Even if the bad guys don't have guns, you are at a decided disadvantage.

Third, if a man were to try to attack you, or break into your home, it's a pretty good assumption that he means you harm. Even if he doesn't, you have the right to protect your property. But if he does mean you harm, and you are female, you are at a big disadvantage just from the fact you are female and he is male. Even a skinny short guy has a physical advantage over a female. He has more muscle than you, because of his biology, and his arms are longer, which means even if he doesn't have a gun, he can reach out and stab you or strangle you, and you wouldn't even be able to reach his body to protect yourself.

So if you are a female, a gun evens the fight. And it is a fight.

In America, the cities are jungles, and there are a lot of bad guys out to rob you, rape you, kill you, torture you. We have had quite a few serial killers here, who kill for fun and no other reason. We have home invasions. We have millions of illegal immigrants, who have not been screened for criminal background. The UK has had serial killers, I believe, and does have crime, but not to the extent that the U.S. does.

I have pulled my gun on an intruder and stopped him from breaking through the door. So, I have a gun. The police can't get here in time to protect me. It's up to me, alone. A woman who has been and will be targeted for crime because I am a woman living alone.

That is the way it is.