Originally posted by Peg:

"Plenty of people live in Florida who DON'T carry handguns on their person every day...gee, maybe she found it a normal thing to do because of all the gun ownership in Canada???"

When friends of mine went on a 1-year sabbatical to the southern US two years ago, they couldn't believe the signs in store windows that said "please leave handguns outside," or "please check your handguns at the counter."

Gun ownership in Canada must be distinguished from gun ownership in the US, by type. 2/3 of Canada is wilderness -- Canadians hunt with rifles. Canada has extremely rigid rules about handguns -- and there are no legally-owned semi-automatic machine guns or assault weapons that are privately owned: they are illegal. What are those weapons for, anyway -- hunting deer? What would you hunt with those besides people?

Posted by McGrath of Harlow:

"Bit unfair to take that as an indication of a national American tendency towards violence. Those are British rockets and bombs, being used against Americans."

You are absolutely correct -- I should have made my reference clearer. I was not referring to whose rockets and bombs they were, but to the fact that some of the words to the US national anthem refer to them. I find it odd that an "anthem" which is a hymn of praise, in this case to a country, should make reference to war.