Quote from sheda:
It has always confused me when I hear a person state an unarmed nation is a nation of sheep, the idea is to eradicate the firearms from the bad guys, not the good. There are millions of firearms in the UK, I have owned several my self yet I have never had one pointed at me or witnessed one used in anyway that was not safety conscious.
A shotgun is fairly easy to get, a rifle takes good reasoning and even then for most there is a graduation process of sorts, starting with a .22 and having the land you intend to use it on inspected for suitability, once you have shown with time you can handle your firearms affairs responsibly you are able to get larger calibres granted to you.
Every firearm you own is on a ticket and by use basis, if you break the law in anyway or show signs of unsound mind/character they are taken from you. That is not to say a person with a criminal history may never own and use one, its taken on a case by case basis, I know several people with criminal records dating back who do own and shoot, they are allowed to do so because they have sorted them selves out and proven that's the case.
For the Most part its an environment in which one will never see a firearm or have to use one in self defence, gun against gun. The shootings sprees that have taken place here, an armed populous would have been of little help, unless one expects primary school teachers to be armed or draws there gun behind there back every time a car stops and a man calls you to the window for directions with the intention of shooting you in the face.
The thing is the fatality's numbers of shooting sprees in America and the UK are often very similar which is to be expected. Just because you have a gun and have used it at the range does not mean you will have what it takes to respond when a life or death situation appears literally out of no where when you least expect it...
If the UK had the "right" to be armed the only result would be that gun related crime and deaths increase massively, the problem with Rights is that they are universal, applying equally to every one, if the person who wants to kill me and steal my wallet has as much right to carry a firearm as me and one of the reasons that right exists is to protect my self from them in the first place, something is very amiss..
Good nations and sound community's aren't just built on rights, there built on responsibility and some things are so vital you should have to prove your responsible before you have the right to engage in.
Its never going to be a water tight system yet right now there are community's out there in which you will have a gun pulled on you for speaking your mind, I am not American but even I can not believe "the second amendment" is used in defence of this scum.