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The cultural issues surrounding guns are many and widely debated.  [[Conservative]]s generally prefer to reserve for the [[individualism|individual]] [[the right to self-defense]] through the use of guns and other weapons.  [[Liberal]]s generally prefer to delegate this right to guards, police, and the military.{{fact}}

The cultural issues surrounding guns are many and widely debated.  [[Conservative]]s generally prefer to reserve for the [[individualism|individual]] [[the right to self-defense]] through the use of guns and other weapons.  [[Liberal]]s generally prefer to delegate this right to guards, police, and the military.{{fact}}

Law-abiding citizens carrying guns are statistically an effective deterrent and defense against lawless or criminal individuals.  This has certainly been shown in the USA, which had 11,350 murders by shooting in 2005<ref>http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/05cius/data/table_01.html</ref>, compared with 50 in 2005/06 in the UK, which restricts the possession of handguns.<ref>http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/hosb0207.pdf</ref> However, it should be noted, that the USA has a population approximately 5 times greater than the UK,<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usa</ref> <ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uk</ref> the number of murders by shooting is approximately 200 times higher.

Law-abiding citizens carrying guns are statistically an effective deterrent and defense against lawless or criminal individuals.  This has certainly been shown in the USA, which had 11,350 murders by shooting in 2005<ref>http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/05cius/data/table_01.html</ref>, compared with 50 in 2005/06 in the UK, which restricts the possession of handguns.<ref>http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/hosb0207.pdf</ref> However, it should be noted, that the USA has a population approximately 5 times greater than the UK,<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usa</ref> <ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uk</ref> so the number of murders by shooting is only approximately 450 times higher.

[[Second Amendment|Guns are also a defense against a tyrannical government.]]  Theoretically, if a person has the power to take the life of another, other people will not perpetrate criminal offenses against them.  In practice, few existing civilian militias are strong enough to withstand sustained warfare by a government's army.  Also, countries with high rates of gun ownership, such as present-day [[Iraq]] or many countries in sub-Sharana [[Africa]], are not guaranteed to have a low crime rate.

[[Second Amendment|Guns are also a defense against a tyrannical government.]]  Theoretically, if a person has the power to take the life of another, other people will not perpetrate criminal offenses against them.  In practice, few existing civilian militias are strong enough to withstand sustained warfare by a government's army.  Also, countries with high rates of gun ownership, such as present-day [[Iraq]] or many countries in sub-Sharana [[Africa]], are not guaranteed to have a low crime rate.