Stirred up some good discussion. Of course, dealing with Americans and guns, you usually will. I'm glad to see the discourse is civil.
How much irony is there in the fact that if the US were to ban guns that they'd have to send people with guns to take them?

This is a pretty powerful testimony as to the failure of gun control. Also note (it's probably been mentioned) that mass shootings happen in gun free zones. I'm in AZ, where concealed carry is permitted for everyone. It's very common to see someone carrying openly and there's no way to know who is carrying concealed. You know that several are.
The cops in our town are very aware that we probably have far more guns per capita than most areas of the country. They know that just about every house has one. And they are glad for it. Violent crime here is almost non-existent. There hasn't been a homicide in years (in the town).
Simple fact: You never hear about the mass shootings hat were thwarted by the person who had a gun, whether it was a gun-free zone or not. I know of a student at ASU who shot a man as he came through her window. She knew she was being stalked, couldn't get help, so asked a friend to help her. He took her out and helped her to buy a gun then taught her how to use it. What chance would she have had without it?