GTO, I'd defend your right to leave home only while armed to the teeth if that is the only way you are comfortable. If you read my entire post you would see that it was a call for a reasoned and rational approach to the dangers of cruising in the third world, rather than the paranoia that seems to be present in the minds of some of the posters. If you are paranoid about the risks of cruising somewhere, then please don't go there. By definition, people who are paranoid see dangers lurking everywhere, even when they do not really exist. At minimum they tend to over-react to situations that they find dangerous. I did not say that a person who is armed is paranoid; but a person who is armed AND paranoid is both armed and dangerous.
I also made no apologies for the people who attacked this couple. Nor did I say that "you do not understand the culture - it is a machismo thing." Although I must say that your choice of words certainly betrays some paranoia about the Latin-American culture, however irrelevant to SVG.
The decision to
cruise with or without
guns is a personal choice. So long as people respect the laws of the countries they visit and declare them (which almost invariably results in them being turned over until departure), they are acting within their rights.
As to your belief that arming the population reduces violent crime, let us just say that most other countries view the American experience as evidence to the contrary: the developed country with the largest per capita
ownership of firearms (and the largest per capita prison population) has the largest rate of violent crime and murder in the developed world. Those are the facts, but as I say, you are entitled to your own opinions and to make your own decisions concerning arming yourself. Just don't express shock that most other nations do not share your views and will likely confiscate your guns upon entry.
I also suggest that you not forget that you are not the world's police. While you may be prepared to be the judge, jury and executioner of someone who breaks into your
boat, understand that in many nations the laws are very different: in many places deadly force can only be used in defence against imminent death. I note that this couple managed to defend themselves against this horrible intrusion and act of violence without resort to guns. I suspect that if they had shot and killed the intruders they would have, whether appropriate or not, found themselves in custody awaiting a trial on the issue of whether it had been necessary in self-defence.
If gun stores are your idea of 'an oasis of peace', then I suspect you will find little to interest you in cruising the
caribbean. If you do decide to go, then please understand that just as the democratically elected
government of your country has the right to make its own laws, so do the governments of these nations. Simply put, if you need to carry a gun to feel safe, then in most places outside of United States territorial waters you will feel very unsafe indeed!
Brad
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