@AAQ
Have you ever seen someone shot to death in a civilian setting?
Unfortunately, I have a number of times.
The first time, I was 16 years old working retail. The store owner pulled a gun from under. The Counter to stop a shop lifter, when the thief refused to drop the merchandise, the shopkeeper fired and missed the shoplifter, but killed a child shopping with her mother.
The second time was a drug shootout, three bystanders killed as collateral damage.
I’ve seen more, but these were more than enough to fix my opinion.
In both these cases the killing guns were licensed.
In junior high school we were required to learn to shoot rifles. They still had a WWII attitude that if drafted we should be ready to fight. 1967 was the last time I held or fired a firearm. I have no desire to do so again.
Last Sukkot we were guests at friends in the Five Towns. The host showed me his pistol below his suit jacket when we arrived at shul, told me he’d been auxiliary police for 29 years. He is that member of law enforcement or well organized militia that I believe has the right to carry a gun. That said it made me feel uncomfortable to have someone with a gun davening next to me in shul. I davened in a different shul The rest of Sukkot. There may have been those with guns but I was not aware of their presence.