news-record.com

"England ... has overtaken the US for all major crimes except murder and rape." If this is true, not owning a firearm has not physically harmed UK citizens, has it? And the right to own a firearm has not necessarily protected US citizens from physical harm either. Clearly there is not a direct correlation between gun ownership and personal safety. That is not to say that I think gun ownership should be banned; I merely suggest that quoting statistics on England's violent crime doesn't help support your case.

John Dixon writes: "Laws banning guns only disarm law-abiding people and leave them at the mercy of criminals ".
He then goes on to say a level of "naivete permeates the anti-gun movement".
According to the FBI, in 2008, the latest year sampled, we each have a 0.45% chance of being the victim of a violent crime- anything from a bar fight to a homicide- each year. That means, on average, in all of America, it would take over 200 years for it to happen.
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/data/table_01.html
But John Dixon is not naive. Like many liberal gun activists, he just knows it could happen to him, regardless of statistics. So, he'll be prepared. Each day of his life, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, John will live in fear. He'll pack a gun and stand ready to defend himself, his home, his family, at any moment. And let's say it does happen. Let's say sometime in John's lifetime, a violent criminal will stand there, waiting patiently for John to unholster and unsafety his gun. You see, that's how it will have to work, because before John can even draw his weapon, he'll already have to be the victim of a crime or be able to show a court he had solid proof he was in imminent danger of it, or it'll be John who's the violent criminal. He can't just point his Glock between the eyes of someone he fears and, say "Go ahead, punk, make my day", because that's a crime.
Of course, part of John's point is that if we all have guns criminals will think twice before they attack us. Indeed they will. They'll think twice about the aggressiveness they'll need to use while committing their crimes, because they'll still commit them. And, if all of us have guns, criminals will get bigger and better ones and use them more often.
But, John will be ready. Every time there's a bump in the night for the rest of his life, John will have his gun at the ready, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, aiming into the night. And, hopefully not shooting the cat, the kids, the neighbors or his own head instead of the bogeyman.