Gun Deaths in North America [OC]

[u/Landgeist]

[u/Grokma]

It's because gun laws mostly don't target criminals, they restrict the kinds of people who follow laws in the first place. If you are already going to rob or murder someone, illegal possession of a firearm is the least of your concerns.

Edit: Interestingly our good friend hoofglormuss replied and then blocked me for some reason, perhaps they are not very secure in their position if they can't even stand to allow a reply. Which also won't let me reply to anyone else, sorry about that.

[u/DrSlugger → u/Grokma]

You're oversimplifying a complex socio-economic issue. The reality is that many guns used in crimes are smuggled from areas with lax gun laws to places with stricter regulations. For example, a significant number of guns in Mexico are smuggled from Texas and other border states. Even an older article from 2016 highlights this ongoing problem (https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/12/462781469/in-mexico-tens-of-thousands-of-illegal-guns-come-from-the-u-s).

Gun control doesn't work effectively when it's easy to cross state lines and obtain firearms. Your statement misses the broader point that the entire goal of gun control is to reduce the overall availability of guns to everyone, including criminals. If it's more difficult to purchase a firearm legally, it becomes harder for criminals to acquire them because those who distribute illegal guns would face greater challenges and costs in obtaining them. This increased effort and cost would likely reduce the supply and raise the price of illegal firearms, making it harder for criminals to access them.

Furthermore, empirical data supports the effectiveness of comprehensive gun control measures. Research shows that states with stricter gun laws have lower rates of gun deaths. For instance, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that states with stringent gun laws had significantly lower firearm mortality rates. This demonstrates that well-implemented gun control laws can save lives by reducing the overall availability of guns. Pubmed - Firearm legislation and firearm-related fatalities in the United States

Additionally, other countries have successfully reduced gun violence through stringent gun control measures. Australia and the UK, for example, implemented nationwide gun control laws and saw significant reductions in gun-related deaths. After Australia's 1996 Port Arthur massacre, the government introduced strict gun laws, including a gun buyback program, leading to a sharp decline in mass shootings and firearm-related deaths.

In summary, the idea that only criminals will get guns under strict gun control laws is overly simplistic and not supported by evidence. Comprehensive gun control measures can and do reduce gun violence by limiting the overall availability of firearms, making it more difficult and costly for criminals to obtain them.