Law-abiding citizens using guns stopped murderers in control of schools in Pearl, Mississippi, and Edinboro, Pennsylvania. Gun-control laws do not reduce undesirable behaviors. Modern gun control began in 1968 with the Federal Gun Control Act. As the attached graphs shows, there is no obvious relationship between access to guns and either homicide or suicide rates. Japan and Sweden, two countries with extremely restrictive gun possession laws, had suicide rates of about 19.2 and 17.6 per 100,000 population in 1986- 87.The U.S. rate was 12.8.
Black markets develop when desirable products are outlawed.
This means that licensing, registration, background checks, and outright confiscation tend to be ineffective. Criminals likely to fail background checks in legal markets simply buy their arms in black ones. Though England outlaws almost all private firearms, English criminals can easily rent or buy a gun. Funding for background checks and other limitations on legal possession could be better spent on programs known to reduce crime. Evidence from England and Australia suggests that armed citizens play an important role in reducing crime.