I agree it is basically a cultural difference. Our attitude (and it is basically an attitude about personal weapons) is derived from the history of our country. Those brave souls that founded this country came here with personal knowledge and experience of other abusive governments oppressing states and their citizens. The right to bear arms was created for that very reason. There is a lot of discussion (to put it midly) back and forth these days that the right to bear arms should no longer be necessary because the threat of an abusive government no longer exists. Of course, there are many that believe that the threat of an abusive government is slowly returning here in the United States so the right is just as important as it was 200 years ago...

>Hi, Tracy
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>I am living in a country where weapons are generally banned. One could pay a substantial fine or even go to jail only he's found to carry a knife and there are suspicions that he intends to use it as a weapon.
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>This is why I find very hard to understand the right to own a gun, but I believe is a matter of cultural/social difference.
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>Thank you.
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>>There is well-known humour about Southerners in the U.S. and their 'right to own a gun' and also their proclivity on using it to defend themselves if necessary. It is actually a very demeaning joke (but told by many standup comedians in the U.S. -> 'redneck' jokes) and many around the U.S. consider it an 'ignorant Southern thing' regardless of how serious the Southerners are about it. Hate to say it but I carried a 9mil around for years because I had to and I still have one handy at home. Since it is the one weapon that I can actually lock and load fast and aim reliably, it is my weapon of choice. I will always have one too. I guess even though I was born in the north and I lived around the U.S. and around the world I have turned into one of those redneck southerners.