Reply #17: Actually, the last time it was studied..

[X_Digger]

40% of guns used in crime come from illegal / black market, and 40% from 'friends/family' (http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/fuo.pdf).

There is no indication that the largest source of guns used in crime is theft from 'honest people'.

http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/GUIC.PDF

"According to the 1991 Survey of State Prison Inmates, among those inmates who possessed a handgun, 9% had acquired it through theft, and 28% had acquired it through an illegal market such as a drug dealer or fence. Of all inmates, 10% had stolen at least one gun, and 11% had sold or traded stolen guns."

re suicide, our rate is actually better than many countries with more stringent gun laws-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate

5- Japan
14- Finland
15- Belgium
17- Switzerland
18- France
21- Austria
27- New Zealand
35- Canada
37- Norway
39- Iceland
40- United States