The percentage of voters who own guns stands at nearly 40 percent, compared to 27.6 percent in 1988. Furthermore, the more you make, the more likely it is that you have purchased a firearm lately. The new guns aren't going to survivalists and drug thugs, but to law-abiding citizens with jobs and families. Proponents of gun control argue that new laws will build on this progress by preventing bad guys from procuring weapons. This sounds reasonable, until you consider that felons generally don't stride into a gun shop or show and obtain their arms by legal means.
Thugs are rational.
They pick on easy prey and avoid trouble. For example, the man who allegedly attacked the Jewish community center in Los Angeles did so only after concluding that security was too tight at more prominent Jewish sites. Lott argues that creeps back off in states that let citizens acquire permits to carry concealed weapons. So the question is how best to discourage bad people from shooting good ones. Trigger locks, waiting periods and registration laws aren't the ticket.