For clarity:

I believe that the right to bear arms and all of our (americans) other rights and liberties are vital to our success as a society and political power.

That having been said I also believe that discussion of that opinion on an international forum that has decidedly attempted to remain non-political is out of place. My initial post was made in an attempt to clarify the question. As I see it, all the grumbling about restrictions placed on us in the name of security are correct and the situation is quite a lot worse than most realize as you said. OTOH, if someone comes here and wants to know what could be carried as helpful survival tools in the face of these or more severe restrictions then we owe it to them to focus on those items that would be helpful and allowable so that they can have their questions answered even if they don't agree with our having liberties. There are many Britons who believe that carrying a gun is not the right thing for a citizen but If one showed up here wanting answers for day-to-day survival in urban London they would need an answer that doesn't include a Glock.