As a Brit' I, too, find this an interesting thread to watch. Until recently I couldn't understand the desire on the part of any right thinking person to carry a gun. However, having recently been targetted by a guy diagnosed as having psychopathic tendancies (and I'm not being overly dramatic here), I find myself wanting to protect my family as best I can. So suddenly I'm wondering if I would carry a gun if I was allowed. This bloke is due out of prison in Jan' next year (unless the police do him on another couple of charges), so this may not even be paranoia! If I believed HE was able to access a fire arm (which for all I know, he can) I'd be climbing the walls!