Re: Armed Civilians in the UK
No such thing as a 'defensive' weapon in this country...you can't even sleep with a baseball bat under your bed or in your car.
Unless you happen to keep gloves and a ball along with it to convince the police that you are a baseball enthusiast they will confiscate it.
You can however carry a rape alarm or a whistle...so on being attacked by a lunatic with a bowie knife, you can make lots of noise and hope he'll run away!
They even stopped Securicor bullion guards carrying a truncheon years ago...because they were an 'offensive' weapon.
But of course the Blairs/Ministers/Royalty of this country have 24 hour armed detectives to protect them...so that's all right then.