a well regulated militia

True story: My best friend freaked out one night at a party, probably as side-effect of an anti-OCD drug plus too much alcohol, and tried to strangle his wife (also a good friend of mine). She fought him off, got away, and they're now split up for good. If he'd had immediate access to a gun, he would have killed her. Then, he would have killed himself over the guilt. He told me this in so many words. Now he's not a bad guy; he's my best friend -- no police record, etc. But sometimes basically good people do bad things. Add guns to the mix, and bad things become Bad Things with a simple pull of the trigger.

This is the "what if" game that no one can win. Yes, if he had a gun, he might have killed her. And if she had a gun, she might have held him off. Would he try to attack his wife if he knew she was armed and knew how to use it? What if? Blah blah blah. Seriously. You can't win here, so let's just drop it. I like you, but this is an awful example.

Guns definitely do facilitate death. That's what they were made to do - kill people. Unfortunately, this can't be undone. Guns are here to stay.

Now, what to do about it?

Well, one option that you <i>seem</i> to support is the idea of gun control laws - making it illegal to possess handguns and assault rifles (which were your examples). Okay. So those laws get passed and you're real happy. What have they accomplished? <b>They remove the guns from the hands of law abiding citizens</b>. That is the very simple and obvious outcome, and you cannot argue it. Read it over again and again until it totally makes sense. Only those that obey the laws are going to follow it. Criminals don't care about the laws, so it's not bothering them.

As a matter of fact, they're loving this gun control stuff. Why? Well, for one, it creates an illegal market for guns. Those that are able to traffic in them will become obscenely rich. Secondly, it means that Joe Q. Citizen does <b>not</b> have a gun, so Leroy G. Thug can pick on him at will. Leroy might not have a gun, but he <b>knows</b> that John doesn't, and that gives him an advantage. Partially because John can't know whether or not Leroy does, and partially because Leroy now isn't in as great a physical danger as he is when he attacks someone who is carrying a firearm.

So the situation that has been created is this: law abiding citizens do not have firearms (pistols and assault rifles), and criminals may or may not.

Explain to me how this is a good idea?

"Well, the potential for accidental firearm deaths will decrease."

Okay. Well, last time I checked, more people died in car accidents than did in shooting incidents. Let's make cars illegal too? Hmmm?

I'll give gun control advocates the benefit of the doubt and assume that their intentions are noble - to make the country a safer place. But... how is it possibly a <b>good idea</b> to make any sorts of firearms illegal? How does that help you accomplish your goal?