[JOHNY CA$H]

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It seems the argument for guns making a safer society would apply then to arming all nations with nukes to make a safer world.

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Although there might not be particularly good reason to expect this to hold true, to some extent this really has been the case. No nuclear powers have ever directly gone to war with each other -- this has resulted in the longest period of sustained peace between major European powers for centuries. On the other hand, if I have a gun, and some maniac who is explicitly threatening my life is reaching for a gun -- I certainly am not obligated to let him pick it up and carry out his threats. The analogy to current world politics is obvious.

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Staying with the analogy, what do you do when the known maniac, who maybe has threatened you in the past, is tying to buy/maintain possession of a gun?