sure, that could be true, but people don't live in 'what if's they live in reality. and if the reality is that theyre safer with a gun, why wouldn't they choose to protect themselves? your post was about reasons people carry guns. but yet, you now talk about it as an issue with the country. theyre separate things. you could have asked, 'how are people in America able to get access to guns so easily' or 'why doesn't America have far stricter regulations on guns' but that's not what you asked. the thing is...the criminal who got their gun easily, didn't do so by legal means...you know there are illegal blackmarets right? and these exist in many countries. people sell drugs illegally, there is crime, its not that the criminal walked into a store and purchased one with zero background check, he bought one illegally. criminals will find a way to find a weapon. so naturally, a person would want to protect themselves.