Worldwide, there are about 857 million firearms in civilian hands—up 32 percent from the last Small Arms Survey estimates in 2006. For comparison, there are about 133 million firearms controlled by the world’s militaries and 22.7 million in the hands of law enforcement across the planet. This means a growing numbers of civilians around the world are in a position to push back against police and militaries that serve often-abusive governments and are already outmatched in terms of raw weaponry.
The disparity in arms between government forces and civilians is common in much of the world, notes J.D. Tuccille, but particularly dramatic in the United States.
Despite the high-decibel shouting over the rights and wrongs of private gun ownership, civilians are pretty well armed around the world and becoming increasingly so over time, Tuccille writes. Will that rebalance power between individuals and the state?
It looks like we’re going to find out.
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