I've researched the issue quite a bit over the last few months. The main decision is how to spend our retirement years.

1. Buy and RV and mostly travel in North America, with the side trip to the UK, Scotland, France.

2. Just Travel, live in Central Mexico sometimes with friends.

The statistics on crime and my conclusions are this.

Yes the US is on the whole 10 times more violent than in Canada, however it appears that most of that is in the larger cities, and happens at night or in specific areas.

So I stay out of Downtown areas in NJ, or Dallas etc. That's easy, especially at night, since unless it's band night like tonight I'm snoozin at 10:30.

What alarms non-americans is the issue of I gotta have a gun to protect myself. But you can go to lots of states with it, but it's a right. We don't get that, because that stuff is regulated on the federal level, not the provincial or state level. The state builds bridges, roads, 'manages' health care as the feds dictate, and in some 'states' /provinces they provide policing outside the cities. There is a clear line between who does what. The attitude that if I don't have a gun so I'm gonna be a victim and it's my right, makes a tourist feel inferior.

Honestly perhaps you should pass a law that when you turn 19 you go to gun school for a week and you get some cash towards a gun. If that makes the country safer, then you'd need no cops, just give the citizens the right to shoot all the bad guys. Every American would be a cop. If we examine the cost of policing and jailing people vrs. our Health care costs, you guys could all have free deluxe health care of your choice.

I'd be ok if every american had a gun and was going to protect me.

But to paint the picture that you'd be vulnerable not having a gun leaves outsiders to wonder what the heck is going on. Is that simply enough stated? I have no problem with whatever you want to do. Your country. But it seems a patchwork of stuff.

I voted against long gun registration in this country. However to buy any ammo you need a permit, and have to go to 3 days of school to get it. Then when they pull you over, OR show up at your house the cop computer in the car goes to the database and instead of a nice conversation about your barking dog, you are a 'freak' gun owner and they bring 4 cruisers to say shut the mutt up. The current 'conservative' government has promised to dump that long gun registry and the ability of the police to run that check, but they don't have the numbers to ram it through.

The real problem with guns and downtown is the crime of the moment. If you have one, and someone pushes you to the point you see the red rage, the irrational can happen.

In reality we are way more violent. I've been in about 500 fights at least. Usually I got the other guys hockey sweater over his head and gave him a black eye or maybe knocked out a tooth. But after the game we go to the same bar, laugh and drink beers. The guy with the black eye usually will make you buy him one. If you counted hockey fights as crime we'd all be in jail.

John Conley
Musica est vita