"J. Clarke" wrote in message
Can you give us an example of _one_ incident in which as a result "10
other people pulled out handguns and started shooting at each other"?

Happens in gang fights all the time. One person pulls out a gun and then so
do all the others. But then, they're gangs and that's not what you're
referring to.

However, if you and a dozen friends were all armed and your best friend
pulled out a gun to defend himself, there's a excellent chance you would
too. If you were just walking along and you heard some bullets zip by,
wouldn't your first impulse be to pull out your gun too? If your first
inclination would be to run and hide, then why would you be carrying a gun
in the first place? Face it, if someone is carrying a gun, they they're
prepared to pull it as necessary. When you don't carry a gun, then you're
prepared to take different steps.