Apparently, the net effect of waiting periods is to make citizens more vulnerable to criminals. In addition to gun restrictions, the Senate bill provides for background checks for purchasers of bomb-making materials. This too would have no effect on crime, since so few items would be covered and so many common items can be used to make bombs. No one seriously proposes to include fertilizer, used to make the bomb that killed 168 in Oklahoma City, or propane tanks, used in Colorado, in new restrictions. The regulations on explosive materials illustrate that there is no logical stopping point to prevention.
Age limits Nearly everything juveniles do with guns is already against the law.
But there are always new things to outlaw. The Clinton administration wants to ban handgun possessions by anyone under 21, therefore banning legitimate uses of handguns by persons under age 21, including self defense. It is already illegal for gang members to carry guns. Young people suffer high victimization rates for murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. John Lott's research shows that laws allowing those between 18 and 21 years of age to carry a concealed handgun are no less effective in reducing violent crime than those confined to citizens over age 21.