Marc, I think one thing you don't grasp is what is called 'checks and balances' over here.

Whether you trust the government or not, our system was set up so that every part of the government has another part that has just enough power to keep it in check ( or prevent it from abuse). This is what checks and balances are. The constitution and amendments were written (a lot of us believe) to make sure the government could not step on the rights of individuals or states. One of the first things a government would do in order to opress its people would be to disarm them. So making that a basic right tends to keep that problem at bay.

Not trying to be silly, but what keeps the government of the UK from opressing its people at this point? If the government set militia on the streets and said you were all going to pay this tax and give up your homes? This is one of the things the right to bear arms guards against.I am not saying that is ever going to happen in either country, as I tend to believe people are good (in general) but a lot of history tells us otherwise. So we were given this right (and in a sense a responsibility) to be able to keep the government in check, be it state or federal, the constitution says we can not be forcibly disarmed as law abiding citizens.

I am sure accidental gun deaths are more common (obviously) when guns are around. There is a responsibility that goes along with gun ownership. However, in this country if the general public was unarmed, the criminals would not be. UK is an island with pretty port control. We have thousands of miles that border other countries, so illegal guns would be here within the hour of being outlawed. Just as we see weapons being found and used in crimes that are already outlawed (like automatic weapons, etc). Just another reason you will likely never see the gun control work here.
Edited because the window expired and it reverted to an earlier verion when I used the back button to try and post ..

Last edited by rharv; 03/11/10 04:59 PM.
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.. I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome