Gun Control & RKBA
In reply to the discussion: Gun Controllers Unwittingly Support Unsafe Societal Conditions [View all]gejohnston
(17,502 posts)Prior to 1903, there were no gun control laws in the UK.
While some of the cops were issued guns at times, it didn't last long and had more to do with poor training, lack of equipment, and other factors other than successful gun laws. One of which, the cops themselves tend to prefer the status quo.
Guns are used in crimes today than before in UK history, yet the police are still largely unarmed. That shoots your entire premise out the window.
Neither the US nor the UK are unique when it comes to arming cops. UK is in the minority, but no unique.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_use_of_firearms_in_the_United_Kingdom
The UK did not have the same economic problems and was not a new democracy. The other European countries did not have strict gun laws either, but passed them between the world wars fearing political violence like was seen in Germany.