XPost: alt.politics.liberalism

"slothe" <slothe@netcom.com> wrote in message news:vk1vm6$1nhp$1@nnrp.usenet.blueworldhosting.com...

On 19 Dec 2024, "max headroom" <maximusheadroom@gmx.com> posted some news:vk1eb1$2tp6p$2@dont-email.me:

PETERSEN: Banning Ghost Guns Won't Stop Criminals But Might Create
More - AMP America

Austin Petersen

The recent murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, allegedly
committed with a 3D-printed "ghost gun," has reignited calls for
stricter firearm regulations.

It's a familiar pattern. Tragedy strikes, and lawmakers rush to "do
something" without fully thinking through the consequences. The
problem is, history shows us that sweeping gun control measures often
backfire, creating more problems than they solve. And there is no
tragedy, no matter how great, that justifies taking away the rights of
innocent people.

Take the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban. It was supposed to reduce
violent crime by banning certain semi-automatic weapons and
high-capacity magazines. Instead, it did little more than drive demand
for banned firearms into underground markets. Studies conducted during
and after the ban's ten-year lifespan found no measurable impact on
overall crime rates. Criminals simply found other ways to arm
themselves, and law-abiding citizens bore the brunt of the
restrictions. And still do!

Australia's 1996 gun buyback program offers another perfect example.
After a mass shooting, the government confiscated and destroyed over
650,000 firearms. While proponents of the policy hailed it as a
success, the reality was more complicated. A black market for firearms
quickly emerged, undermining the program's goal of keeping guns out of
criminal hands. Instead of reducing crime, it handed criminals yet
another lucrative opportunity.

Even Canada's long-gun registry, which required non-restricted
firearms to be registered starting in 1995, turned into a bureaucratic
nightmare. Many gun owners simply refused to comply, rendering the
registry incomplete and ineffective. Add to that the billions of
dollars it cost taxpayers, and it's no wonder the program was
eventually scrapped in 2012. The lesson here? You can legislate all
you want, but if the public doesn't buy into the rules, or worse, if
they actively resist them, you're left with an expensive failure.

Banning something doesn't make it go away. It just pushes it
underground, where it's harder to regulate and often even more
dangerous. This is exactly the risk we face with ghost guns. These
firearms, which can be assembled from kits or created with a 3D
printer, have no serial numbers, making them untraceable. Law
enforcement is already struggling to address this trend, and an
outright ban would likely make things worse. Instead of eliminating
ghost guns, it would drive their production further into the shadows,
creating a thriving black market and making it even harder to track
who has them.

The enforcement side of this is no picnic either. Every hour law
enforcement spends trying to police ghost gun bans is an hour not
spent tackling more pressing public safety concerns. Resources are
finite, and when you create a new set of laws to enforce, you stretch
those resources even thinner. Meanwhile, the real criminals just
adapt. It's a game of cat and mouse that law enforcement rarely wins.

So, what's the alternative? Instead of rushing to ban ghost guns,
let's focus on strategies that actually address the root causes of gun
violence. Expanding access to mental health services, promoting
community-based violence prevention programs, and educating the public
about safe and responsible gun ownership are all far more effective
than blanket bans. These approaches respect individual rights while
addressing the problem at its source, without creating the unintended
consequences we've seen time and again.

https://ampamerica.com/banning-ghost-guns-wont-stop-criminals-but-might
-create-more/

Accurate. If there are no guns, perps will use knives or other means. Democrats will still intentionally knee-jerk legislation as far as they
can get it.

https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN04304/SN04304.pd

That is even assuming you can get the guns out of the hands of criminals.

I mean has the war on drugs eliminated drug use? That's a perishable good unlike weapons

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