If you want undeniable proof that gun laws cannot keep criminals from obtaining guns, just look past our southern border.
The Mexican constitution allows for legal possession of only one handgun per household. The firearm must be of a caliber less than .380 and not a caliber used by police or the military. It must be registered. The firearm is not to be carried in the street. It is for self-defense within the confine of one’s own home.
To take a firearm out of your home to a range, gunsmith or for hunting requires a special permit. It is a one time use permit. You need a new one each time you take your firearm out of your home. The permit is not free.
There is only one commercial gun shop in all of Mexico. It is located on the outskirts of Mexico City in a heavily guarded Army base and is run by military personnel.
To buy a firearm requires completion of a multi-page document and a background check much like in the U.S.A. The background check in Mexico make take several months compared to background check in the U.S. which can be completed with phone call.
Yet with all of these restrictions, the Mexican police and military seize up to 30,000 guns every year from criminals and cartel members.
Criminals and Cartel members do not buy their guns at Mexico’s one gun store that is run by the Army. Yet they somehow obtain so many guns that Mexico’s murder rate is five-times higher than in the U.S.
Murder rate in the U.S. for 2018 is 5 per 100,000 residents. In 2017 (latest year available) Mexico’s murder rate was 25 per 100,000 residents.
Running a close second to Mexico, Washington DC’s murder rate for 2018 was 22.8 murders per 100,000 residents.
Strangely enough, Washington D.C.’s gun laws are similar to Mexican gun laws. Washington D.C. has only one gun shop in the whole district. It is currently being run by the police. Firearms are registered. The firearm must be kept in your home. Carry permits are extremely hard to get. The only real difference in Mexico and Washington D.C. is the expense is greater and the paperwork more complicated in D.C. than Mexico.
To summarize: The country of Mexico has one gun shop, it is run by the Army, Cartels don’t buy their guns there yet police confiscate up to 30,000 illegal guns every year.
Gun laws don’t work.