If they succeed, their lawsuits will establish bad law and bad public policy. The lawsuits would establish bad law because they ask the courts to legislate. In many similar lawsuits, courts have consistently held that questions concerning whether firearms should be legal and widely available are for legislatures to decide. Frustration at the failure of legislatures to enact laws sufficient to curb handgun injuries is not adequate reason to engage the judicial forum in efforts to implement a broad policy change. The lawsuits would also establish bad public policy because guns prevent more harm than they cause.
Criminals fear armed citizens more than police.
An additional 9,000 to 17,000 criminals are wounded by civilians each year. This far exceeds the number of crimes committed with firearms each year. Had liberal concealed carry laws prevailed nationally, there would have been 1,600 fewer murders and 4,200 fewer rapes each year. However, not every city or state has seen the drop in crime that has accompanied the liberalization of concealed carry laws. Consider Philadelphia, where the idea for a lawsuit first arose.