Take a look at that murder rates chart that Sonart posted.. Switzerland has a considerably smaller murder rate than the United States, but yet, Switzerland has one of the highest gun ownership rates in the world. Military training is mandatory for young men, and they keep their assault rifles at home.
Gun politics in Switzerland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I rather like the Switzerland system. One of the reasons that Switzerland was not invaded by the Germans in World War 2 was because the whole country has military training and guns.
Don't be so quick to give up your right to bare arms. One of the first things that a communist or dictatorship government does, is ban the citizens from owning guns. That keeps it nice and easy to push them around.
Don't think that banning guns will lower the murder rate, it won't. I'll use Switzerland as an example again..
My point is, that banning guns prevents the honest citizens from getting them, but do you think the criminals care what the law is? They will use illegally held firearms.
The reason the murder rate in the United States is so high has more to do with poverty and the gangs it creates, than gun law.
You'll notice from the chart that the countries with smaller murder rates are also countries that we know have a stronger social 'safety net' than the United States -- as in, public healthcare, more welfare, etc. Less poverty.
Not that I'm advocating that kind of government. It's not my ideal..
Also, I'm feeling too tired and lazy to actually read all the other posts in this thread after the original post, so if someone has already said all this, I apologize, just ignore me.