Gun Control

It is admirable that Liberals are concerned for public safety and want to prevent horrific deaths and senseless violence like what occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School during 2012. 

Conservatives share this concern.

It is also comforting to hear President Obama state: " We're a nation that believes in the Second Amendment, and I believe in the Second Amendment. We've got a long tradition of hunting and sportsmen and people who want to make sure they can protect themselves. My belief is that we have to enforce the laws we've already got, make sure that we're keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, those who are mentally ill. We've done a much better job in terms of background checks, but we've got more to do when it comes to enforcement. (Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 debate , Oct 16, 2012, as quoted HERE)

And, since guns are often used in highly publicized mass murders and "drive by" shootings, liberals feel that guns are the problem and that the solution is stricter gun control laws.

They support these feelings by pointing to places like Australia and Britain where, comparatively speaking, gun control laws are stricter than for much of the U.S., but where violence, particularly gun-related, is lower than in the U.S. 

So, the motivation and sentiment driving liberal gun control laws are well meaning, respectable, and above reproach.

However, what about the results of gun control laws? Have they worked and solved the problem as intended? Have they, or will they decrease gun ownership, make our communities safer, and prevent mass murders?

The short answer on all accounts is, "no," gun control laws don't work. Instead, the law of unintended negative consequences comes into play, and the supposed solution merely makes matters worse.

To understand why gun control laws don't work, let's look first at places like Cuba, which has very strict, police-state gun control laws, but more violence than in the U.S., and places like Switzerland, which has very lax gun control laws, and has considerably less violence than Cuba or Australia or the U.S. Let's also look at cities located in the same state, covered by the same gun-control laws, but that have radically diverse rates of violence. (see: National Review: The Dishonest Gun-Control Debate) 

How can this be? If guns are really the problem, and gun control is the right solution, then Cuba should be far less violent than Switzerland, and cities in the same state should have relatively similar levels of violence.

In truth, the problem isn't with guns, themselves, but with certain individuals using the guns and the violent. permissive, excusing, and life-devaluing cultures they are raised in. There are hundreds of thousands of law-abiding citizens with safes full of all sorts of guns and rifles and automatic weapons, who don't and would never think to kill another innocent human, and yet there are a relatively few gang members with a handful of stolen handguns who wouldn't think twice about snuffing out another life. 

For an explanation as to why these Leftist energy LUNCs occur, please see: Gov: Wrong Tool for the Right Job - Introduction and Cold Nanny as well as The Politics of Compassion, Emotions, Ignorance, Denial, Blame-Shifting, and Victimization

Documentation::

Gun control laws expand government:
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/04/15/Machin-Toomey-Compromise-Is-Full-Of-Gun-Control-Red-Tape
http://mccarvillereport.com/archives/12413
http://www.mygovcost.org/2013/05/28/govgungrab-con/

Gun control legislation boosts gun sales and puts more guns in the hands of more people:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/12/us/as-us-weighs-new-rules-sales-of-guns-and-ammunition-surge.html?_r=0
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-01-17/world/36410203_1_gun-sales-gun-industry-firearms-industry
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/colorado-gun-sales-skyrocket-to-all-time-high-as-gun-control-debates-heat-up
http://www.forbes.com/sites/frankminiter/2012/08/23/what-the-left-wont-tell-you-about-the-boom-in-u-s-gun-sales/

Higher Rate of Gun Violence in spite of gun control laws:
http://www.policymic.com/articles/11778/james-eagan-holmes-shooting-strict-gun-laws-only-lead-to-more-violent-crimes

Mixed Bag:
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/345649/fact-free-gun-control-crusade-thomas-sowell
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/07/gun-violence-study-chicago/1969227/
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2013/03/new-study-finds-firearms-laws-do-nothing-to-prevent-homicides.php
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/30/us/strict-chicago-gun-laws-cant-stem-fatal-shots.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
http://crim.sas.upenn.edu/jerry-lee-center-criminology/
http://www.factcheck.org/2013/02/did-the-1994-assault-weapons-ban-work/

Gun control laws have no affect on mass murder:
http://boston.com/community/blogs/crime_punishment/2013/04/gun_rights_gun_control_and_mas.html
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/01/14/lets-set-the-record-straight-5-common-misconceptions-about-guns-mass-shootings/
http://www.jeffhead.com/massmurder-guncontrol.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/20/opinion/fox-mass-murder

Gun control laws hurt law-abiding citizens:
http://www.pantagraph.com/news/opinion/mailbag/gun-control-hurts-the-law-abiding-citizens/article_99e165c8-ad29-11e2-8e71-0019bb2963f4.html
http://capitalismmagazine.com/2013/04/fact-free-crusades-how-gun-control-laws-disarm-law-abiding-citizens/
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/345649/fact-free-gun-control-crusade-thomas-sowell
http://www.mereliberty.com/governance/gun-control-the-case-against-the-law-abiding-citizen/

Gun control laws potential constitutional infringement:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323951904578290460073953432.html
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/right-own-gun-under-heller-30295.html
http://www.2ampd.net/Articles/Hoff/treasonous_and_unconstitutional.htm