Gun Culture of Switzerland and the United Kingdom: Significance of Possession or Ban on Small Firearms for Democracy and Safety

On the example of two developed democratic states, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, gun culture phenomenon is being studied which means the relationship of society and state towards small firearms, expectations and fears of guns, meaning of the right to obtain, possess and bear guns in a modern democratic society, power and safety aspects of gun culture in both countries. A high explanatory power on gun culture is encompassed in a quantitative indicator of the ratio of injury numbers caused by firearms per capita to the total number of firearms per capita. Britain radically restricted the right to gun with the aim to increase safety, however with not fully convincing results. Switzerland by contrast made this right a key element of its defense strategy, but facilitation effect of easy access to arms has its negative impacts too. From the qualitative perspective, civilians' right to guns can be seen as indicator of state's trust in its citizens, an indicator of distribution of power between citizens and the state. The unanswered question is how to determine an optimal level of gun regulation while preserving one of the key rights of a free individual, the right to defend his/her legitimate interests