Are Guns the Problem or are Criminals?

This week I’m traveling, and I was in the antique markets of Athens, Greece. I saw many old (vintage) firearms. Not only was I offered these for purchase, but I was never asked about ID or even what I was going to do with these firearms. While it wouldn’t be possible for me to actually purchase anything like this (I’m traveling via cruise ship and even antiques are verbotten), it was interesting that the Greeks have a more relaxed understanding of guns. This is in a nation where armed guards ceremonially guard the president – outside the former Royal Palace.

The irony is that like the United States, it was the guns of private citizens that helped win the nation its independence from the Ottomans, and again from the Germans in World War II. Could it be that our freedoms and lack of occupation make so many fearful of guns?