Gun Control & RKBA
In reply to the discussion: Point Click, Fire: An Undercover Investigation of Illegal Online Gun Sales [View all]discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,805 posts)...is a quite prevalent in the US. The US murder rate has not much to do with gun laws. The US non-firearm murder rate is higher than the overall murder rate in many other countries. As a society, US residents are more violent than many other countries.
It is also a fact that the more prohibition-like laws that are passed, the greater the underground (black market) flourishes to profit in the trade of whatever contraband is being prohibited. These laws ensure that, in the case of firearms, the ownership spectrum is exceptionally polarized. In the extreme, only murderous criminals and government agencies will own effective weapons. I believe that laws like the AWB, the DC, Chicago and other municipal handgun bans do little to affect the criminal possession of those weapons.
If you really want the number of murders lower, the action required is not to add more items to the black market menu but to remove some, drugs for one.
Law enforcement is equipped with firearms which are used nearly all of the time for the protection of the officer. Law enforcement employs the tactical use of firearms very rarely and under extreme supervision. Ask any special response team member. For that matter, just ask a regular cop under what circumstances he/she is to fire their gun.
The estimates of firearm ownership in the US are between 80 and 100 million owners in possession of about 210 million firearms. US residents own about 35% of the private firearms in the world. I think our record is rather good.