I haven't read any other posts in this thread. With that said:
I live in Georgia. I own a gun because of my occupation. Before that, I never touched one, and had serious concerns about people who did own them. Now, I realise that people around here are gun crazy. They were raised that way. Little kids that are 7 years old have guns (illegaly) that their parents have given them. Several times, I will stop a car and see a rifle or pistol in the passenger seat- if it's not concealed & the owner has a license to carry, then it's not against the law.
People at my office will ridicule me for spending $400 on a videogame console, but will think nothing of dropping $800+ on a firearm. I may be the only persoh in my office (females included) with just ONE gun.
On the flipside, aside from suicides, it's extremely rare for me to respond to a call where somebody had gotten shot. Still, just this past Sunday, I had to take a gun away from a man who caught his wife cheating, and was trying to kill her. Lot's of anxiety, to say the least.
