Being from Canada, and now living in the US, I think, gives me a different perspective.
Back home, having a gun is just rare: no one really, really wants one, and I guess they don't see the need. However, I had a few friends that had shotguns, rifles, and pistols. All were registered. I even knew a guy that got his license through his stint in the army, so he had an unusual weapon, but I don't remember which.
Here in the US, I have a hard time finding someone that doesn't have a gun in their house! Maybe it's a Texan thing, I dunno.
In the first few months I was here, there was a man that was arrested, for assaulting someone at the local hospital, yielding a semi-automatic rifle. I only read about it in the papers, but what hit me the most, is that it was almost inconceivable that someone would do that in Canada.
Since then, I've seen many reports of police officers being shot, to a terminal end, just in the Houston area!
I've never taken the time to compare crime statistics between Montreal, Quebec, and Houston, Texas, but it seems clear to me that the proliferation of weapons has had a significant impact here. Last I checked, Houston has an average crime rate, in this nation.
Then again, maybe it's just the brighter sun here, that's driving people crazy
:shrug: