Brits getting surprised on how much more peaceful USA is over England, could it be we have guns?

You seem to be basing your question on the testimony of one person, which hardly constitutes 'Brits' in general. There are areas of Britain that are violent, and there are many more areas which are peaceful, the same as in any country, and to suggest the USA is more peaceful than Britain is just plain wrong. A 2006 report by Cukier and Sidel states that there are more than 10 gun-related deaths per 100 000 people per year in the USA compared to 0.4 in England and Wales. Automatic weapons have been illegal here since the 1937 firearms act, so to suggest that an increase in violence in 2008 is a result of that is naive and ignorant. And further to your link, surely it is more civilised to be polite to somebody because you respect their right to walk the streets without being hared, rather than respecting them because you're afraid they might shoot you. My friend, I am English, and I feel much safer here than the few occasions when I've walked the streets of Manhattan.