By that logic: Why do we use locks for houses and cars?Kalezian said:Granted, as long as agencies are proactive in law enforcement instead of just saying "these weapons are now illegal, now don't have one. we are just going to turn our backs to you now" will decrease crime considerably. However, even in places where firearms restrictions are so, well, strict crimes that would of been committed with a firearm are shifted to other weapons.
For example in China where a man wielding a butcher knife, which you can buy in any half decent supermarket or store, killed several children in school.
Akin to the Sandy Hook Shooting, he only killed I believe seven to eleven children instead of the twenty-eight or thirty that the Sandy Hook shooter killed, but it remains that if he had a firearm, he would of used one. He didn't, so he used the next best thing.
But using the guy as an example who killed the two police officers in the UK, he wasn't following the law. He didn't care about laws, legalities of firearms, or explosives for that matter [which by the way, was it an actual fragmentation grenade? that's beyond crazy. Here in the US we have people that will use pipebombs or such other homemade devices, but not a fricking M67, or the UK equivalent]. He set out to do one thing, and circumvented laws regarding firearm purchases and restrictions.
I'm not going to say owning a firearm will make you safer than someone who doesn't, but where I live it takes the Sheriff's Department a good ten to fifteen minutes to arrive. A lot can happen in just five minutes, and to protect myself until law enforcement arrive, I will more than likely have to use my rifle.
Saying [not you, but a majority of gun control advocates in the US] that I shouldn't be allowed to defend myself with my rifle because:
A: it holds more than 10 rounds in a magazine
B: has a pistol grip [which makes it more deadly than the exact same rifle with a traditional rifle grip]
C: can fold up [but not be fired] into a size less than 16 inches
is beyond stupid.
I would even say it's retarded.
I will even say this. Plastic isn't as strong as metal, while eventually 3d printed firearms might be a cause for concern, right now you might just get calls from annoyed corner store clerks who are reporting for the fifth time this week someone tried to rob them and the weapon exploded in their hand and if they could send an ambulance because there is a line forming behind the dumbass.
You know, people following the law will not steal your stuff and those who want to steal your stuff won't get stopped by a lock anyway, so just remove them. They're unnecessary.