Americans seem to have no concept of what it is like to live in a
largely gun free society. They view safety as having a gun, and hoping
that if it comes to the worst they will be able to shoot the other guy
before they get shot. In Australia, you don't have a gun and go around
pretty confident that no-one will get shot at all.

Our second amendment is there not for the personal protection (thats a by
product), but specifically to keep our government from growing so corrupt
that the people can't defend themselves against it. Our founding fathers
were revolutionaries. And the last thing they wanted was another tyrannical
government out of control running their lives. But coming from a
quasi-socialistic society with a 96% tax bracket, I wouldn't expect the
Brit's to understand.