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I quote from New Yorkers Against Gun Violence:-
'WHERE DO ILLEGAL GUNS COME FROM?
Virtually every illegally possessed firearm recovered in New York State began its life as a legal product, manufactured or imported by a company licensed by the federal government and sold by a licensed dealer. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) has determined that there are multiple streams carrying guns downstream into the illegal market: corrupt sales by licensed dealers and distributors, straw purchases by individuals or rings, unregulated, multiple or unlimited sales in states with weak gun laws, sales at gunshows, private sales, and theft.
GUNS FLOW SWIFTLY FROM THE LEGAL TO THE ILLEGAL MARKET
The flow of firearms downstream into the illegal market is rapid. 70% of guns entering the stream of illegal trafficking are new. 30-40% of all crime guns traced by the federal government pass in less than three years from a legitimate sale by a licensed dealer into the wrong hands at a crime scene. Illegal weapons pour even more swiftly into the hands of youth: the BATF estimated that as many as 54% of the illegal firearms recovered in connection with persons ages 18-24 were sold by a federal firearms licensee less than three years before.'
Conclusion: illegal guns are primariy, and rapidly, sourced from legal sales. Therefore stopping legal sales will indeed stem the flow of illegal weapons. Those already circulating the underground will be offered an amnesty, then continuing policing and a cleanup operation will gradually reduce what firearms remain.
Drugs: if they were all legal, you would find a lot more junkies about - good for society?
Again, it takes more effort to use a blade or bar against an individual than to pull a trigger - and the results are less likely to be fatal.
The armed 'safety' of the American family is borne from fear, which is generated from the right to bear arms. Really, Americans haven't stopped shooting since they were first made.
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