That the subjects which are Protestants may have arms for their defence suitable to their conditions and as allowed by law
This provision in the English Bill of Rights is the forbearer to the second amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It is based upon the premise that the best defense against tyranny is a well armed populace. Under Cromwell, the government was authorized to seize weapons from all Catholics or those that were deemed dangerous to the government.[15] In America, the possession of the arms by the general populace allowed for the creation of militias which ultimately overcame the English Army.
In both England and America, the right to bear arms has always been one of the most controversial of constitutionally guaranteed rights. England effectively reversed this privilege with the Firearms Act of 1920. That act required subjects to receive a certificate from the police in order to legally posses a gun, and that certificate was not granted as a simple ministerial act as it is with background checks in the United States. The ability of the English to possess weapons has been limited much further under subsequent firearms acts.
In the United States, the right to bear arms is protected much more strongly. The second amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The meaning of this provision has been highly contested, and it is not generally viewed in an absolute
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