If Law Abiding citizens are banned from carrying guns, will that stop criminals getting them?

[elkanah1]

No. That's the great fallacy that gun-less societies are safer. They are in fact more dangerous for women and the elderly.

[cadby]

Hasn't worked in England so far and violent crimes against the disarmed is up about 300%

[tim]

Not immediately, no. But over time it would. Criminals have guns that were bought legally, then stolen or resold.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/jul/14/crime-statistics-england-wales#graphic
England/Wales Crime rates:
• Total of 3,976,312 recorded crimes for the year ending March 2012 was - a year-on-year fall of 4.2%
• Homicides are now at their lowest level since 1983
• Violence against the person is down 7.2% year-on-year, from 822,000 to 763,000

[vohkinne]

I don't think anyone is talking about banning guns... it's about gun control.. like doing background checks on people that buy guys (keep from mentally unstable people, terrorists, criminals)... it's about not allowing people to have extended clips, or fully automatic weapons...

[hrafn]

I don't think anyone is talking about banning guns... it's about gun control.. like doing background checks on people that buy guys (keep from mentally unstable people, terrorists, criminals)... it's about not allowing people to have extended clips, or fully automatic weapons...

nothing
in fact there have been stories over the years of guns the cops have taken off the streets and sending to be destroyed being used in crimes again

[darik2]

No...Norway had a mass shooting and they have very strict gun laws...it is not guns that are the problem but the evil that lurk in men's hearts...until we find a way to keep the crazies and the criminally minded people from getting weapons, the rest of us had better stay armed and protect ourselves.

[felabeorbt]

In the sense that if they are illegal, everyone with one would be a criminal, yes.

As much as it would be an Edenic world without guns, the reality is they exist; and the conversation needs to continue about regulation.

However, how about we make a start--no military-style semi-automatic assault weapons? Sport semi-automatic weapons are designed to be fired from the shoulder and depend upon the accuracy of a precisely aimed projectile to kill an animal; military-style semi-automatic assault weapons are designed to quickly kill as many people as possible.

During the ten-year assault weapons ban, assault weapons traced to gun crimes dropped 66%. It also showed that the less available these guns became, the less criminals used them.

@TK-"more dangerous for women and the elderly." Are you now saying that all women and senior citizens should be armed?

[wal49]

NOTHING WHICH MIGHT EXPLAIN WHY THE MURDER WAIT IS SO HIGH IN CHICAGO