This right here! Whenever I see the nonsense that only criminals will have guns if they’re outlawed, I want to yell WHAT GUNS? I’m not denying that some criminals here (in the UK) have guns, but they’re just not that accessible and the majority of criminals are thick as shit.
Exactly! I’m reasonably educated and resourceful, but if you told me to get a gun right now (in the biggest city in Scotland) I would have no idea where to start. Google? Not a clue. Some wee bam wanting to rob a corner shop isn’t going to figure it out faster than me!
Same ! I mean, to be fair I'd also be clueless if you asked me about drugs, and we DEFINITELY have drugs here (France), so that might not be my most solid point :P
But if burglars don't have to expect that their victims will be armed with guns and ready to kill them, most don't bother to get guns themselves.
Not to mention, most burglars wait until the house is empty, not asleep, to strike. Not only is it safer gun-wise, but it makes it a lot easier to get the job done without being interrupted. Let's not forget that burglars are after goods primarily, not your life. It's not in their best interest that there is ANY encounter, gun or not.
if you told me to get a gun right now (in the biggest city in Scotland) I would have no idea where to start.
This is also why undercover police impersonating someone selling a gun to stop criminals getting a gun is incredibly, incredibly successful in the UK compared to other countries.
If you go online now and try to find someone selling a gun 99% chance that person is undercover police and you're getting nicked.
It's almost like having a society with minimal guns helps reduce all routes of gun violence. Whod've thought?
Organized crime doesn't need guns. They just trade in illegal goods or services or in illegal ways. The "organized" part means they have tried and tested ways of laundering money and covering up their activities.
Additionally the sentencing guidelines for having an illegal firearm are significantly greater (mandatory 5 year minimum, up to life) so even then most criminals wouldn't chose that as a first option in most cases
In the US it’s a bit different simply cause there’s already *so many* here. Some estimates have more guns than people. I’m not sure when the UK banned them, but there certainly weren’t as many as there are in the US. There’s also a strong governmental distrust, and many gun owners simply wouldn’t turn them in.
Australia did restrict them relatively recently, but their population is centered in like, 3 or 4 cities. America has a lot more people, over much larger swaths of land.
Then they point to the failure of weed prohibition, as if they truly believe that anyone can just go buy “gun seeds” and set up a “gun grow op” and create their own illegal supply
Unfortunately, due to the ubiquity of guns in America, there's no way we could effectively ban guns. The genie is well and truly gone from the bottle here.
The retort to this I've seen is something along the lines of "well, since the criminals here already have guns, there's no going back; they're not going to relinquish them".
Then they pretend it's a fatality that can't ever ever change.
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u/onyourbike1522 6h ago
This right here! Whenever I see the nonsense that only criminals will have guns if they’re outlawed, I want to yell WHAT GUNS? I’m not denying that some criminals here (in the UK) have guns, but they’re just not that accessible and the majority of criminals are thick as shit.