by Robert Muirhead

Created on: August 25, 2010   Last Updated: August 28, 2010

The right to bear arms was made in a time when the United States had a highly unstable government, small army, and was very likely to get invaded by the European superpowers, especially the United Kingdom. The colonists needed firearms to protect against wild animals, and today it is highly unlikely to get dragged away by a rabid bear in New York. Because the government was unstable and could easily be corrupted or infiltrated by British spies or redcoats, the citizens needed a way of fighting against any tyranny of a person trying to install a dictatorship, or fighting against a national army, because it was hard to move soldiers around the country fast enough, they would have some militia to fight against European superpowers.

Today the USA has good relations with the UK and the European Union, and has an immense army, in fact the biggest and probably the most powerful army. Today, people who buy guns usually collect them simply to exercise their constitutional right. In Europe, for around one-thousand years the countries have had very powerful and mobile armies, so they had, and have no need to own a firearm. Although there are very tight laws on how to get them, they are generally only available to security guards, farmers and police firearm specialists, and are usually only allowed a BB gun, Air Gun, Pistol, or shotgun.

Armed police specialists have a wider range of weapons and mostly use pistols, sub-machine guns, and sniper rifles. People use guns for self-defence, however, firearms are too deadly to comply with self-defence laws to qualify as self-defence, as self-defence is only self-defence until the attacker is unable to attack or knocked out. Serious injury is considered assault by law.

Guns are also sometimes used against attackers with guns, but armed specialists in the police are allowed to deal with these when on duty if deadly force is definitely needed, otherwise it is just as unlawful as the criminal. Civilians have no need to have guns, as unarmed combat can suffice to neutralise any threat to self well-being and health. Most citizens do not own a gun, so it could be at least limited to small pistols if it gained adequate votes from citizens.  

In America, it is very unlikely that guns will be banned, as it is in the written American constitution, and it is sometimes seen as a patriot, especially right-wing citizens, to own a gun to defend against invaders.

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