U.S. Gun Rights Truly Are American Exceptionalism (Bloomberg View) [View all]

[eppur_se_muova]

I got curious and did a Google search to see how many countries have created (yes, that is the right word) a Constitutional "right" to bear arms. I got quite a range of results, but this appears to be because the answer has changed over time. Apparently, this is because countries sometimes change their constitutions, despite assurances I have recently read that this never happens.

Mar 7, 2013 6:30 PM EST
By Zachary Elkins, Tom Ginsburg & James Melton

March 8 (Bloomberg) -- What do Guatemala, Mexico and the U.S. have in common? They are among the very few countries throughout history whose constitutions have guaranteed the right to bear arms.

Our study of constitutions going back to 1789 shows that only a minority has ever included gun rights. What’s more, the number has dwindled, leaving a small and motley set of bedfellows.

For some, this lonely position is enough to suggest that the U.S. should rethink the current interpretation of the Second Amendment. For others, it is a reason to celebrate American exceptionalism.

Either way, the U.S. gun-rights debate raises intriguing questions about how other countries have addressed the issue in their constitutions. When were such rights predominant (if at all), which countries have had them, and how were these rights expressed?

Constitutions have been largely silent about such rights, and increasingly so. Twenty-four constitutions from nine countries have included gun rights in some form since 1789. Most of these constitutions date from the 1800s, and since World War II, no country has written a constitution with such a right without first having done so in the 19th century.
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more: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2013-03-07/u-s-gun-rights-truly-are-american-exceptionalism