Gun Ownership

Okay, I am a European. I find it strange that ordinary citizens can own guns in the USA. Americans with all their Wild West history and realities are strange to us Europeans who have faith in police authorities. But I have lived long enough in the USA to understand that relying on the protection of the police against evil is not enough. It is a dream that worked when the majority of society was (at least) committed to a semblance of civility. I now think that it is ridiculous to leave protection against murderous crooks exclusively up to overwhelmed police authorities.
Just because something is illegal, it does not stop it. Hallucinogenic drugs are illegal (I know I am on thin ice when I question the viability and rationality of the "war on drugs"... but that is another issue), yet the market and the resulting traffic are alive and well. The same holds true for guns. Crooks will always find ways to acquire illegal weapons; that is a fact! In light of this, it is wishful thinking--and criminal--to prohibit responsible citizens from legally acquiring guns for their own protection.
Let criminals be aware (and count the possible cost) that they might cross the line when trespassing with ill-intent into the lives of law-abiding, but armed, citizens--at their own peril.
My answers to two of the arguments that are usually raised against legal handgun ownership (i.e., increase in criminal activities, and more accidental deaths), are: 1) whether legal or illegal, criminals will always find ways to acquire guns, and 2) we do not consider outlawing automobiles despite the fact that nearly as many people are accidentally killed every year in the USA alone, as Americans who lost their lives in the whole Vietnam war.
I am a European who now believes that counting on the protection of police authorities is a luxury that in a free and democratic world is available to everyone, but not everyone will enjoy its benefits. I therefore am in agreement with laws that allow law-abiding citizens to acquire handguns for their own protection.
Am I saying that there should be no regulation at all? No, of course not. Just because alcohol is a legal and taxed product does not mean anyone can use it in any amount at any time. The same goes for guns; shoulder carried rocket launchers definitely do not seem appropriate personal protection devices.