[onion2k]

This is the new flavor of scare tactic.

I'm British, and I find it really weird that Americans apparently live in abject terror of the world around them. The notion that anyone in Britain would ever need a deadly weapon to defend themselves is completely alien here. We just ... don't.

[otakucode]

The primary reason for a need for guns is to retain the ability for a violent uprising to overthrow an oppressive regime should one arise. One of the benefits of the American system is that it does not assume infinite beneficence and eternal benevolence on the part of the governing body. This is wise because we know history. It doesn't make sense to fear being shot simply because many people own guns. If it did, then it would make sense to be in constant fear of vehicular homicide because automobiles are everywhere. It is not possible to make it impossible for people to harm or kill one another. Humans are hard to keep alive, not to kill. What protects you is not the inability of your neighbors to kill you - they all can, and easily - or the legal system, it is social and the philosophical outlook of those around you. Those factors are scary to people so they often pretend to not see them, but they're really the only protection humans can ever have and it is what they actually rely upon to determine if they 'feel safe.'

[onion2k]

Do those Americans who believe they need guns to form a militia genuinely think they could take on the US military in the need arose? In a battle between a thousand guys with AR-15s against a single M1 Abhrams tank my money would be on the tank.

[mcny]

If there was a genuine need for such an uprising, I'd hope there would be people within the government and the military willing to support us.

I wouldn't want to be in the tank killing civilians because "I was following orders" won't work when all is said and done.

My understanding is that guns are not the main source of resistance against tyranny. It is the fact that an economy as complex as ours requires broad participation by many people with specialized skills. A dictator can't run the economy simply by mining blood diamonds or crude oil here. I imagine you need the backing of at least twenty percent of the population.

[the_trapper]

Insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan have held up pretty well against the US military over all. Pervasive gun ownership in these countries prior to our involvement is a major part of this equation. I think a militia uprising in the US would fare even better because a substantial number of the members of said militia would have been trained by that very military they are fighting. I also believe that a substantial number of the National Guard units would be loyal to their state instead of a tyrannical federal government.

Let's also not forget that our country got its start by a scrappy group of farmers and tradesmen armed only with muskets and flintlock pistols that defeated the greatest world power at the time.

[malandrew]

There’s also a good chance that some, many or even most soldiers in the military would end up on the side of the insurgency. They oath is sworn to the Constitution, not the federal government.

[rayiner]

The US is much more dangerous than the U.K. Our murder rate is 10x higher. Besides that, there is a lot more rural land in the US, which makes hunting and defending against wild animals a real thing. Besides that, using guns to overthrow our government is kind of our shtick. We didn’t wait for Britain to up and decide to let us be independent when Britain felt like it.

[RaceWon]

> The notion that anyone in Britain would ever need a deadly weapon to defend themselves is completely alien here. We just ... don't.

I'm American, and Your Country is The Sole reason why we will Not give Up our right to defend ourselves against any Government--And most Especially our own. We Just... Won't.

A quick look around the Globe at Nations that Enslave and/or Torture their Citizens because they can, because the peope are unarmed--is really the only modern day reason we need to Never give them up.

[onion2k]

The reason you aren't enslaved or tortured isn't because you have guns.

[RaceWon]

> The reason you aren't enslaved or tortured isn't because you have guns.

Of course Not... but it Is the reason We never will be.

[prepend]

Countries have different belief systems and thus are different. The U.K. has a queen, with the best real estate in the country set aside for personal use.

While that seems really inefficient to me as a Frenchperson, I understand that British people like it.

I’ve categorized this in the category of things that I’ve noticed but am not interested in enough to work toward the explanation, but if I ever learn it I’ll remark “hmm, that’s neat, I never knew that.”

[onion2k]

The U.K. has a queen, with the best real estate in the country set aside for personal use.

Most of the state-owned "crown estates" land is open to the public.

[prepend]

Try taking a tour of Buckingham Palace. Compare it to the available of France’s “crown estates” :)