'One should not live by the gun'

Dave Makkar, who runs a check cashing business in Irvington, New Jersey, does not keep a gun though his area is notorious for crime.

"I have been running a check cashing store for the last 10 years in New Jersey's most violent town Irvington. I carry more cash on some days than my next door neighbor -- a bank guarded by an armed police officer. That bank has been broken into at least 50 times in the last 10 years despite the armed officer. By the grace of God, and good wishes of the residents, even without any guard I had never faced such break-in," Makkar says.

"I believe that one should not live by the gun. If you live by one you may one day get killed by a gun," he adds.

"I am entitled to a gun license because of the nature of my business and my neighborhood. But I never applied for it. I strongly feel the community I am serving, especially my neighbors, they are my best defense. I try to share their happiness, festivals and grieve with them. For that reason maybe no outsider has dared to do any physical harm to me," he says.

"Fraud or stolen checks is a different issue. You don't need a gun to rob me with a fraudulent or stolen check. If I fail in my judgment I fail and no gun can stop my losses from bad checks," he also says.

"I will never recommend that one should keep a gun at home either. Man is a social animal but there is a very thin line dividing the social and the unsocial. So no guns even at home," Makkar says.