Right To Keep and Bear Arms

United Kingdom

Further information: English law, Scots Law, Northern Ireland law, and Gun politics in the United Kingdom

English law and Scots law do not in general talk about rights. Modern law exists only to curtail certain actions which are deemed illegal for the common good. There is an English common law right to keep and bear arms for self-protection but the possession of certain arms is controlled ostensibly for the common good. The Bill of Rights of 1689 undid the disarming of Protestants which had occurred in the aftermath of the Civil War but did not create any new rights. The right to regulate arms was clarified, making it certain to be the prerogative of Parliament and not the Monarch. The first serious control on firearms after this was not made until the passing of the Pistols Act 1903 more than 200 years later.

Modern-day possession of guns operates as follows: everything that isn't prohibited under section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968 must be held on a section 1 firearms certificate, unless it is a section 2 shotgun and can thus go on a Shot Gun Certificate. The requirements for a firearms certificate are more demanding than that of a Shot Gun Certificate.

Police officers in Great Britain do not routinely carry firearms but do typically carry a baton and/or pepper spray. Police that do carry firearms regularly are typically those guarding national ports of entry, those engaged with diplomatic security, Royal Protection officers or the Civil Nuclear Constabulary.

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