Chicago, this past weekend, continues to unravel.
47 shot. 5 more dead.
Of course, the first reaction will be to blame the guns. Take away the guns, and no one will murder anyone!
But taking away guns doesn't stop murder. Take a look at studies from Harvard that show that when gun control laws are put into effect, the murder rates spike. In fact, most studies agree that restrictive concealed weapons bans actually increase murder rates.
What these studies tell us is very common sense. When people don't have guns, they are just as apt to use something else in place of a gun. Some people, don't know, that the largest mass school killing was actually done by a bomb, not a gun. And the two largest mass murders in the US in the last 25 years have been with airplanes, box knives, and a truck packed with fertilizer.
The point is, banning guns doesn't help any more than forcing people to buy multiple 16 ounce sodas stops people from drinking too much junk - it just forces people willing to break the law, to adapt.
It doesn't matter if it's guns, alcohol, or drugs. Criminals find a way. Worse yet, because others won't break the law, they often profit the most. A great example of which are the drug cartels of Mexico. Want to permanently defund them? Stop the "war on drugs." That, of course, has many societal impacts that would have to dealt with, but that's not where I'm going here.
The point is the breakers of the law benefit, while the good citizens suffer.
Such would be the case if the United States did indeed ban all guns.
Good people would suffer. Good people could die. For instance, what about those who are smaller in stature, both men and women, who need the ability to protect themselves? What about people who may be targeted for whatever racial or religious reason? What about political figures, who may have multiple people out to hurt them?
Reality is - banning guns won't stop mass murders. The only real way to stop mass murders to look deeper, at the reasons such events occur. Such as mental instability - which was the case in the Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Aurora, Columbine, and Elliot Rodgers shootings.
Our mental health laws need to be the first thing we look at - not banning guns.
