Why Gun Control Laws Don't Prevent Crime

Because criminals and criminally insane people do not obey laws.

And because criminals get their guns from sources that either cannot be, or are not being effectively regulated by law:Alper M, Glaze L. Source and Use of Firearms Involved in Crimes: Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016. NCJ Number 251776. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. DOJ. LINK., Cook PJ, Parker ST, Pollack HA. Sources of guns to dangerous people: what we learn by asking them. Prev Med. 2015 Oct;79:28-36. LINK.

Pie Chart: Sources of Guns used in Crime

  • 25% of crime guns are obtained from friends or family,
  • 43% are purchased on the street,
  • 6% are stolen,
  • 17% come from other unregulated sources, such as "I found it," or "Someone else brought it to the scene of the crime."
  • Only 10% of crime guns are purchased at a licensed dealer. Most of these are either straw purchases or sales conducted by crooked dealers,Cook PJ, Harris RJ, Ludwig J, Pollack HA. Some Sources Of Crime Guns In Chicago: Dirty Dealers, Straw Purchasers, And Traffickers, 104 J. Crim. L. & Criminology. 2014;104(717). LINK., Wachtel J. Sources of crime guns in Los Angeles, California. Policing-an International Journal of Police Strategies & Management. 1998;21(220). LINK. so gun controls laws don't prevent these transactions either.

Gun control laws don't prevent gun crime because gun control laws don't prevent criminals from getting guns.

The next chart represents 87 million American gun owners.

Pie Chart: 99.5% of Gun Owners No Crime

The green section is the 99.5% who are law-abiding citizens. The red section is the criminals.

Gun control laws only affect the people in the green section.

Again, this is why gun control laws don't prevent crime.