Why do gun opponents have so much trouble accepting the fact that anyone can get their hands on a gun? Do you really have that little trust in your neighbors? Maybe it has to do with where you live? I am guessing supporters of gun control live in cities with serious social problems? In many small towns throughout America, guns are everywhere. Really anyone could pick up a gun and start shooting people. But they don't. There are criminals, to be sure. But most criminals have no reason to go around trying to kill crowds of people. In fact, in many of these small towns, no criminal in his right mind would dare try to use his gun to commit a crime in public, he would immediately be gunned down. Yes, there are a few crazies out there who want to kill innocent people. But they are very rare. Most serial killers prefer to kill their victims one at a time, rarely do they use a gun. And for the crazies who do want to kill as many people as possible, they hardly need a gun. There are various other possible ways. If just a couple people in a crowd were carrying a concealed gun, and some crazy started opening fire, how many people do you think the crazy individual would be able to kill before being shot dead himself ? My guess is probably only four or five, tops. Of course, we could just disarm everyone in public, and wait for the police to arrive... Even if you could make sure no one could get their hands on a gun, you think all the violence and killing would go away? Juvenile delinquents and psychopaths would just use some other tool to kill. Again, fewer than 1% of homicides are spree killings. Everyone who is not locked up potentially has access to a gun. You will just have to accept that. Yes, little children do need to be protected, but little children typically do not go off very far without their parent's supervision. In many rural parts, gun control just doesn't make any sense. Guns are so widespread, it would be rather silly to try to prevent a criminalor even a mischievous 15 year oldfrom getting their hands on one. That is why it is so important to teach ones boys about responsibility and gun safety in these parts. Many 15 year old boys do go out hunting with a rifle (I know some of you sheltered urban dwellers are shocked ), they don't cause problems. Should these people have to sacrifice their way of life just because of a few crazies out there and growing gang violence problems in the cities? When you and everyone around you have guns, when you are surrounded by guns in everyday life, you realize how silly the idea of gun control is. Now I realize different regions are different, and maybe the concept of ending violence with gun control seems reasonable to you if you live in a densely populated city where almost no one has a gun. But still, even if you make it harder to obtain a gun, a determined criminal can still get his hands on one. There are all sorts of illegal automatic guns floating around in America's inner gang-plagued cities. Law enforcement has been about as effective at stopping illegal guns as they have been stopping cocaine which is to say, not completely successful. Of course, usually criminals do not have a need for an automatic weapon, not unless they are fighting against another gang over drugs. We just have to accept that guns are out there, and that a determined criminal can get his hands on one. It's rather silly to be focusing on the gun.
Most criminals in America get their guns from the "grey market" of straw second hand purchases. The fact that rural America is saturated with guns isn't proof that guns are harmless, it's the entire reason for America's problem with firearm crime.
