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So New Zealand is a totally safe place where self-defense is never necessary?
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita
This place has some murder rates listed. (Even NZ is not free of murders.) Notice how a lot of the countries on the list have very stringent gun controls and more murders than the United States. Banning guns does not prevent criminals from having them, nor does it prevent people from killing each other with knives and other weapons.
The very existence of an armed offender division of your police indicates to me that there might be a few armed offenders there.
Within the United States, the highest crime rates are often where guns are most restricted, such as Chicago and Washington D.C.. Guns are very simple objects and simple ones can be made from simple hand tools and everyday objects. I once read a document about the prevelance of home-made guns in D.C.. But based on how you think there is no weapons in New Zealand, I'm sure nobody in New Zealand has access to basic hand tools or plumbing pipes since these could be used as weapons even if they weren't used to make weapons.
I'm sure there are not any vicious dogs or wildlife in New Zealand either.
The existence of crime in a region of course and whether or not guns exist does not prove a causation. (Coorelation does not equal causation.) If you took into account the clothes worn during automobile accidents you would falsely come to the conclusion that leather jackets and helmets cause severe injury and death using this flawed logic. To the contrary, leather jackets and helmets are worn by motorcyclists to prevent injury. Motorcycles accidents just happen to be a lot more likely to cause severe injury and death than car accidents, and motorcyclists tend to wear leather jackets and helmets whereas people who drive cars do not.
Instead, look at how the crime rate has changed, before and after gun control. In many U.S. states, crime fell once it became possible for people to easily gain permits to carry guns concealed. In many countries like England in Australia their violent crime rates like murder have always been lower per capita than in the United States even when gun ownership was not so hard in these countries. I think you will find if you look at the statistics, that in these countries when they began implementing stringent gun laws the crime did not decrease as a result. In most of the studies I have read existing trends of reducing crime rates slowed down after the creation of harsh gun laws, and in some cases crime began to rise afterwards.
Why is Spanish taught in a lot of American schools? Well a lot of people in America speak Spanish. It is the second most prevalent language and due to immigration it is possible that in not too long a majority will likely speak it. To be a succesful business person you will want to be able to speak the langauge of the people you sell products to
In most places it is still optional to take a second language and there are often other choices like French, but Spanish is the most popular because it is most useful in America.
I'd prefer to carry my gun with me anywhere I went, no matter how safe it is. Call it paranoid if you wish. It doesn't interfere with daily living anymore than carrying around any other objects people commonly carry such as flashlights, cell phones, ipods, multitools etc. Even if you do consider it paranoid, why should people not be allowed to satisfy their paranoia as you see it by carrying a weapon? A handgun is a very easy object to carry and it is a good insurance against being robbed, injured, or killed, or having this happen to someone who is near (like family members).
To me there is extreme indignity in cooperating with the demands of criminals who have your life in their hands. I hope to never be in a situation where I would have to.
And in my opinion guns do reduce crime and deter foreign invasions. If everyone carried a gun at all times (and knew how to use it) crime would be much reduced. In addition to self-defense, in the perspective of some people it could be almost thought of as a civic virtue for the societal benefits. I also think people are much more polite when they are all well armed and they know everyone else is too. Why isn't America like this? Well most Americans do not carry guns. In addition to some who simply do not want to (and should not be forced to), this is in part due to being deterred by what I would consider laws that are too harsh and make it too difficult for the average person. Most want to carry concealed, and in most places a permit is required to do this. In addition to passing stringent permitting requirements and pay special taxes they also have to keep track of and avoid a wide variety of places where guns are banned (such as federal buildings and educational facilities,) and keep track of a lot of other complex laws that change from place to place. This is too much work for a lot of people. More than a third of Americans have guns in their house but at most only a few percent of Americans carry firearms. And many of the houses that have guns do not have them prepared for self-defense because they are locked away and innaccessible when needed.
