your view of Americans having guns as being for glamour, fun and being a cowboy is so narrow. The landmass of the USA is vast. In certain parts of the country, calling the police in an emergency means nothing because they aren't going to show up in time to do anything meaningful. Not for their lack of commitment to the duty of protect and serve, but literally because the time it takes to travel the distance. The 24 hr gas station owner getting robbed at 3am doesn't have a panic button to summon police that will arrive in a timely manner. He needs to have a means to defend himself and his business. The woman getting stalked by her physically abusive ex-husband can finally sleep at night cuz she has a handgun in her nightstand. The family man who can't afford to move his family into a safer neighborhood has to arm himself so he can protect his loved ones in the event the local meth heads decide to hit up their house for whatever god forsaken reason. Maybe Europeans feel more settled in their societies because established government has a long history. They're used to being ruled over. The British monarchy has been around for 1000 years, for example. The United States, a nation with barely any history, is still pioneering and hasn't shed that "you can't tell me what to do, mom!" attitude towards government. We fought a whole war about it. We need the guns to protect ourselves because no one is coming to save us from ourselves but ourselves.