Another thing to remember is you can only defend yourself if you carry a gun with you all the time. Very very few gun lovers actually do that. For example the movie theatre massacre, those people who died in the theatre probably had a gun at home. So having a gun is not enough. You must carry with you and be ready to draw and you must also have prior knowledge who will shoot and when. Only those who are members of a gang do that. Considering all these, your chances of being alive remains the same with or without a gun. The chances of you having a gun and being able to defend yourself with it are as much as winning the lottery. If the USA government goes berserk (hehe this is the reason why most US citizens own guns) then that's it. A gun will not protect u. US government can even get Saddam in his own country out of a hole in the ground, so if US government goes berserk, one can only pray. :)