Gun laws and democracy.

I assume the right to bare arms (as vague as it is) was placed as the 2nd amendment because of fear of the United States becoming an empire like England. But clearly that didn't happen. And England is no longer an empire either. And I think there are more guns than people in the U.S. And maybe 2 million guns for 60 million people in the U.K.?

First off. How did things get this out of hand? And secondly, how much more government redundancy and representation is needed to make Americans feel safe regarding our democracy? More senators per state? More term limits? Ranked choice voting? What can take most of the guns out of circulation?