Open carry gun rights advocates
Over 300 people march with loaded firearms in an Open Carry for Freedom March in Inverness, Florida in 2016.
Chris Tilley/Reuters

The US constitution protects the right to keep and bear arms.

The US has more guns than any other nation, and Americans own half of all the guns in the world. Recent mass shootings in Colorado Springs, Highland Park, Illinois, and Uvalde, Texas have added to the debate about gun control.

There are a lot of guns in many countries. The countries with the most firearms are Serbia, Yemen, Switzerland, and Saudi Arabia.

There is only one country that has a right to keep and bear arms. This is why.

Bogota Colombia protest killings homicides violence
A man wears plastic wings with the word "Peace" written on them during a protest against the killing of social activists, in Bogota, Colombia, April 29, 2019.
REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez

The US's Second Amendment inspired other countries to give their citizens the right to own guns.

The New York Times reported that the right to bear arms has been revoked in all of those countries.

Mexico Guerrero violence police
Members of a small community in Mexico defend their town against gang criminals with guns.
REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez

The Mexican government doesn't allow civilians to own guns south of the US border. Mexicans have a right to buy a gun, but bureaucratic hurdles, long delays, and narrow restrictions make it hard to do so.

Every man has the right to keep and to carry arms, according to the Mexican Constitution. Lawmakers amended it in 1917 after the Mexican revolution.

There were restrictions on the right to buy guns during the rewrite of the constitution. The law didn't allow citizens to buy firearms for use by the military and didn't allow them to carry their weapons in populated areas.

Mexicans have a right to buy guns, but they have to contend with a vague federal law that determines "the cases, conditions, requirements, and places in which the carrying of arms will be authorized"

According to The New York Times, only members of the police or military can buy the largest weapons in Mexico.

Only the purchase of calibers no greater than.38 is allowed for handgun permits for home protection. A man who wanted to buy a gun had to pay a lot of money.

There is only one place in the country where Mexicans can buy guns, and it is located on a heavily guarded army base in Mexico City. More than 500 guns are smuggled into the country from the US every day, despite the store selling 38 guns a day.

Guatemala City, Guatemala
Police escort a prominent drug trafficker in Guatemala City.
REUTERS/Josue Decavele

Gun ownership is permitted, but with strict restrictions. The right to bear arms is regulated by an article in the current constitution.

The document states that the right to own weapons for personal use is recognized. In cases ordered by a competent judge, there will be no obligation to give them over.

If a person obtains a permit, they are able to buy semi-automatic weapons, handguns, rifles, and shotguns. That can be hard.

Individuals who want to buy a gun for private use need approval from the government. They have to re-qualify for their licenses every three years, and they are limited in the amount of bullets they can own.

Proof that the person has a clean police record, does not suffer from mental illness, and has not deserted the army or police is required for a license.

Guns are readily available in the country. Insight Crime says that it has one of the highest gun ownership rates in the world. 75% of homicides in Guatemalan involve a gun, according to an organization. The capital city of Guatemala was ranked the 9th most violent city in the world.

Men Guns America USA
American gun owners practice target shooting.
REUTERS/Andrew Innerarity

The US is in a league of its own because it is the only country that does not restrict gun ownership in its constitution.

The right of the people to keep and bear arms will not be affected by the second amendment.

According to The New Yorker, the second amendment was thought to refer to privileges of the military for nearly 200 years. The 2008 Supreme Court decision found that the second amendment intended to give individuals the right to bear arms.

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