Fireflair wrote:@Annachie: The US Supreme Court has already ruled on that issue many years ago. It quite clearly and firmly came down on the side of gun owners in that the right to bear arms, as enshrined in the Constitution and specifically the 2nd Amendment, does not require a person to be part of a militia. That the 2nd Amendment is a Constitutional Right to bear arms, though that right may be regulated by the State.
The Court first conducted a textual analysis of the operative clause, "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." The Court found that this language guarantees an individual right to possess and carry weapons. The Court examined historical evidence that it found consistent with its textual analysis. The Court then considered the Second Amendment’s prefatory clause, "a well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State," and determined that while this clause announces a purpose for recognizing an individual right to keep and bear arms, it does not limit the other clause.
@Daryl: I don't know that I'd let the gun violence in the US stop me from vacationing here, but my perspective living here is obviously different. I've lived all over the US, moving around as the Navy required me to, and seen many different parts of the country. I've never feared for my life walking down a street or through a tourist destination. Most especially I didn't worry I was going to be shot, you may be certain.
Equally I have travelled and visited in Thailand, South Korea, the Philippines, South Africa, Egypt, Israel and a host of other countries without fearing for my life. Despite all the troubles and difficulties of the military one thing I unabashedly enjoyed was the chance to travel around the world and see so many different cultures.
I don't deny that there are plenty of things in the US which are different. No doubt they don't appeal to other people but by and large they have worked in the past for the United States. I suspect much of what is 'wrong' with the US is a result of polarization of extremes, with people being less willing to compromise and work together but instead are dead set on their view being the only right one. Other major factors are likely the increasing wage gap, worsening education system and poor public health care.
I've been to a bunch of countries as well. The only place I've every felt truly unsafe was Nigeria.
