When guns are outlawed, only the outlaws will sell guns.
Exactly one year ago this column headlined "The
$200 Machine Gun" We predicted that when guns become illegal to own
and sell, then the criminal element would rush in to fill the demand. Thieves,
smugglers and black market gun makers could supply machine guns for about
$200 apiece.
About three years ago, the British government all
but outlawed private firearms ownership in Britain.
Because one vicious killer used a firearm to commit
multiple murders in 1996, victim-disarming politicians
rushed to ban nearly all private gun ownership and
possession nationwide.
The result? According to the January 16, 2000
edition of the Sunday Times of London, "up to 3 million
illegal guns are in circulation in Britain, leading to
a rise in drive-by shootings and gangland-style
executions."
(archive of article content)
What are the prices of illegal guns? According to
the Sunday Times, "a third of young criminals, [ages 15
to 25 with prior convictions], own or have access to
guns ranging from Beretta sub-machineguns to Luger
pistols, which can be bought from underworld dealers
for as little as £200." ($320 U.S.)
How do the guns get into the "gun free" island
nation? The Sunday Times reported: "Criminals have
maintained a steady flow of smuggled guns from eastern
Europe, exhibition weapons reactivated in illegal
"factories" run by underworld dealers, and guns stolen
from private collections."
As predicted, when ownership of all guns becomes
illegal, the buyers will shift toward the higher power
weapons. "There is a move from the pistol and the
shotgun to automatic weapons," British Detective
Superintendent Keith Hudson told the Sunday Times.
British criminals have all the guns they want. The
Sunday Times thus reported: "Detectives say modern
weapons are fast becoming fashion accessories among
young drug dealers protecting themselves and their
territory."
Are British people safer? Crime rates are soaring
in Britain. The British Home Office, according to the
Sunday Times, released figures showing that "overall,
armed crime rose 10% in 1998" -- the year after
national handgun prohibition began.
Usually, when the government passes a law that
causes problems for people, the citizens can petition
the government to change the law. Gun prohibition,
however, does more than just endanger citizens by
preventing them from protecting their lives and loved
ones.
Gun prohibition damages the whole society by
creating a huge opportunity for organized crime to
prosper. Even if the prohibition law is later
repealed, the organized crime elements might be
entrenched with enough money and power to get into
other legal or illegal businesses. Political
corruption, started during the prohibition, likewise
will not just disappear when the laws are changed
again.
The British example shows how the ultimate "gun
control" will likely work in America. Criminals will
get rich selling illegal weapons to other criminals,
and ordinary citizens will suffer a violent crime wave.
The national "instant check" system and the "Brady
Bill" won't even matter.
