Localities in America that have instituted gun bans, like Washington, D.C., have found themselves utterly unable to stem the flow of guns into criminal hands. In Taylor's case, providing that his grandfather was a law-abiding citizen, it may have made a difference. Perhaps a gun ban would have prevented Taylor's grandfather from having the revolver, thereby keeping Taylor from stealing it for his rampage. Even with a ban, a deranged man can obtain a pistol. It most certainly is not.
Guns are inanimate objects.
They do not compel people to use them irresponsibly, they do not magically will themselves into the hands of children. If persons around a child leave loaded guns lying around, they should be held responsible for that action and the consequences of it. Laws that make this clear would help far more than any gun control. Chief Brewer told me that Mr. Taylor is pleading the insanity defense in his case. Gun control advocates who think that their reforms would have saved either of these tragedies might as well do the same.