European Gun Ownership is Rising
In a continent plagued with issues and challenges that most Americans are unaware of, working and middle-class people throughout Europe are starting to rediscover the liberal case for firearms ownership in an era where progressive gun control policies typically prevent private gun ownership.
According to Paul Martin-Foss at RedTea News, “both individuals and businesses want to defend themselves against a threat that governments are trying to pretend doesn’t exist, more and more Europeans are deciding to arm themselves.” The threat comes from both uncontrolled immigration as well as regular violent crime. In a continent with a history of revolutions and two world wars, the images of Venezuelan Security Forces killing protestors in the summer of 2018 also shows the power of life and death that the state holds.
Regardless as to whatever reason people are choosing to arm themselves, they know that the only person who will always defend their lives, their family, and their property, is – at the end of the day – themselves.
The numbers of German gun owners alone show that people are starting to understand that firearms are the ultimate mechanism of self-defense, with Martin-Foss stating that, “In Germany, the number of registered weapons has risen by 10%, while the number of permits to carry firearms outside a shooting range has tripled. More people in Belgium, too, are beginning arm themselves and learning to shoot. But they’ll have a ways to go to catch up to criminals, with as many as 45 million illegal firearms estimated to be in circulation throughout Western Europe.”
In the United States, American citizens have often taken the right to self-defense with a firearm for granted. While the Second Amendment of our Bill of Rights restricts the Federal government from infringing on the right to bear arms, the US is still a union with fifty states, meaning fifty separate Constitutions along with many more local and municipal laws regarding firearms ownership.
By now, it is proven knowledge that there is a strong correlation between strict gun laws in cities, and cities with the most gun violence since criminals are still obtaining guns in order to exploit unarmed law abiding citizens. Along with that, research shows most mass shootings take place in gun-free zones.
If the trend of residents purchasing guns in progressive Europe is an indicator of anything, it should remind Americans of all stripes that the right to bear arms is a natural right meant to ensure life, liberty, and property, meaning voters should be wary of anyone who wants to restrict those rights.
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