Presuming the general population of any given area has a lick of sense in their collective "noggin"....the phrase "An armed society is a polite society" comes to mind.

Even the "greenie-weenies" know deep down inside [though they'll never admit it]......""We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm." [variously attributed to Winston Churchill & George Orwell mid 20th century]