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OK, wow.
First of, Peervardy, there is a huge difference between exercising an individuals rights in a responsible manner, and exercising them irresponsibly. From the sound of your essay there, you wouldn't like it if someone stood on the corner shouting out hateful noise. Fine, great, but how do you stop him from doing it without causing a huge problem for yourself when you say something some other guy doesn't like? Part of having freedoms is to deal with people exercising them in ways you do not necessarily approve of.
Regarding your belief that private ownership of firearms has no bearing on the country's safety, I would like to introduce you to a quote by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, made during World War II: "You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass." Clearly, someone saw it as a potential problem and took it seriously.
The statement that Americans are somehow encouraged to buy firearms is beyond absurd. Granted I haven't visited all fifty, but I have yet to hear of a state that urged citizens to buy guns. Two rather extreme counter-examples come to mind as Massachusetts and California, where purchasing a gun can be quite difficult.
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