Why do Americans feel it is their right to bear arms?

Question

I know its in the constitution and all the rest of it but should they be a part of people lives? Isn't it time to ban them, hold an amnesty and allow to police to control crime - not take it into your own hands.

We have enough problems with guns here in the uk and they are still illegal.

Answer 1

girl, do you know how americans will react to that question?

you might as well try to take away their jobs or children. guns are that important to american culture

Answer 2

You sort of answered your own question there. You say the UK has outlawed guns but you still have a problem with them. That means that since they're illegal those who have them are breaking the law. In other words, it's the criminals who are the problem, not the legality of guns.

There are a lot of guns in the US. Probably too many. But when you take the guns away from the law-abiding citizens then only the criminals and police will have them. Who wants that? I believe I have the right to defend myself. Millions of people have guns and relative to that number very few fly off on a murderous rampage.

The Second Amendment has its roots in the Revolutionary War. If the citizens didn't have guns then the US would probably be in the British Commonwealth right now. I'm not saying we're holding the government hostage or that elected officials would turn in to despots overnight if guns were outlawed. I'm just saying that it's a lot harder for local/state/federal governments and police forces to misbehave with the Second Amendment in place.

Answer 3

That's exactly the point. You can make them illegal, but as you've said, you still have a problem with them. That's because if somebody wants one badly enough they'll find a way to get one, illegal or not. That means that the criminal element will be the only ones to have them. Normal law abiding citizens wouldn't have a way to protect themselves, should the need arise. The police can't control crime completely, that's painfully obvious. No, I don't own a gun, and I don't have plans on buying one.....but, I live in an area that's relatively safe, where neighbors and emergency services are quite nearby should they be needed. However, IF I lived in a rural area, with no neighbors for miles and miles around, you can bet your sweet A*S*S I would own a few.

Answer 4

Your last statement answers your question.

This is a very controversial question in the U.S.

This is not meant to offend, but how long would we still have been under British rule had we not "the right of the people to keep and bear arms"?

To many Americans the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" are the foremost of our rights. I believe most Americans who are for having guns feel it is for the purpose of preserving the first of those rights, the right to life.

Not meaning to criticize gun control laws, but I doubt if the person who committed this atrocity was worried about whether or not they were breaking a gun law. This appears also to be a problem in the UK as you state guns are illegal but that has not stopped gun problems.

Recently in Salt Lake City, a lone gunman killed about 6 people in a shopping complex. He had much more ammunition than for killing 6 people. He was stopped by a person, an off duty police officer, who had a concealed weapon. It is believed this saved the lives of many other people.

Please note also that not all Americans agree with the right to personally bear arms and would disagree with me. I am not meaning to justify bearing arms, but to answer your question about why Americans feel it is their right to bear arms.

Answer 5

It's an indigenous habit. Even before Europeans came, everyone was armed and it was what people did to keep their families and towns/bands/villages safe. The UK doesn't have the same history we do, and really can't be compared. Everyone who could either handle or hold a weapon in our Native cultures was expected to fight, and during the Revolutionary War, the whites who didn't want to be English anymore got their tactics from Northeastern Natives. After the whites got their freedom from England, they knew the one thing that made them successful at gaining that was their use of firearms. It was written into the Constitution after that.

And one gal brought up hunting, the way we started out was another indigenous habit. The English made a show out of hunting, whereas ours was all skill and survival.

In our family, however, our arms that we bear aren't firearms. I have traditional Cherokee archery equipment (short hickory bow, no recurve) and a daito (a shorter Japanese sword.) My mother has two katana, sai, kama and tonfa, along with a bo or two. Dad has two katana, one bo, and a few shuriken (stars.) Both of them are martial artists, so it makes sense.

Answer 6

Heather,
I personally do not own a gun or have a desire to own a gun. With that said, America is about freedom and choice. If you start to tear down the constitution, we are in danger of losing our basic rights as Americans. Besides that, the criminals will still get their hands on weapons if they want to, and a responsible citizen would have no ability to defend themselves, their families or their homes in cases of emergency. In this day and age you never know... I don't expect to need a gun, but if I did, I would want the choice.

Answer 7

Don't you think everyone should have the right to protect themselves and their family?
I agree the situation in the U.S is not ideal, but its not ideal here in the U.K either - when someone can break into your house, be armed and have the intention of robbery or worse and you as much as throw a saucepan at them - you can be prosecuted. Its rubbish - and if you called the police it would be over before they came - so whats the solution??
If there was a chance they could be shot by the homeowner - how many burglaries wouldn't happen in the first place??

Answer 8

The Bill of Rights, 2nd Amendment guarantees the people the right to keep and bear arms. That having been said, many states regulate how arms are kept and displayed. In Calif. it is a misdemeanor to publicly display a weapon or to conceal one on ones person. As I understand it, there are other states that permit the carrying of concealed weapons.

Answer 9

Because in America it IS their right to bear arms.

I am glad we do not have that freedom in England, because for every freedom, somebody has to pay, and the freedom to bear arms has a terrible cost to the unfortunate victims.

However trying to remove guns from America would be virtually impossible, and as long as other citizens can have guns, others will want them.

Can you remember the outrage when a man trying to defend his own property from burglars, was charged with murder because he killed someone with a shot gun. People in England thought that was wrong, in America the law says it is wrong.
Can you expect Americans to abandon a fundamental right to defend themselves?

Edit: I should add that the charge of murder was changed to man slaughter, but still he got punished for trying to defend himself.

Answer 10

Not ALL Americans believe that guns should be openly available although it is difficult to understand the laxity of the laws relating to gun ownership. Virginia - where the event occurred yesterday - has the most lax gun laws in the USA.

Did you see Charlton Heston - the president of the USA gun lobby on TV - he proclaimed that they would take a gun away from him when his body was cold. I wonder what he would have said if one of yesterday's victims had been his grand-daughter!?

Answer 11

i dont see why banning them outright would work. it has not helped the drug epidemic in either country. guns are just as huge a problem as ever in europe and other places. and why should we punish law abiding citizens who hunt and shot for sport because of the actions of criminals, especially when banning guns would do nothing to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.