See what happens when someone gets in a crowded place with a gun vs a knife. Also the general public should not be allowed to take a vehicle in to a dense area like a city.
Honestly, I think banning guns won't work, especially in a country like the US. However, it seems like an easy solution to a difficult problem, hence the relatively widespread support.
To find solutions, we need to look at the problem from as many angles as we can. What I see is:
- gang violence - lack of jobs, profitability in illegal industries like drugs and prostitution, poor high school graduation rate
- mass murders - mental health issues, anger at "society" (desperation or desire to right some wrong), intolerance
- murders - jealousy, revenge, etc, without a better outlet
- covering for another crime - robbery, burglary, drugs, etc
So, now we look at solutions, which will be some mix of:
- gangs - better job availability, better eduction, access to capital for self employment
- mass murder - better mental health care access, more informed public
- murder - more social interaction/feeling of community, access to counselors, better HR departments
- other crime - similar solutions as gang violence
We can't eliminate all violent crime, but there are more solutions than taking away the tool. Honestly, I think more people should be familiar with guns, not fewer, so part of my solution would be to encourage people to get basic training with them, which should help people appreciate their destructive power more.
However, spit balling solutions like this isn't particularly helpful, just like attacking guns isn't helpful. Let's look at what the causes to the problems are, look at possible solutions, and look at how much those solutions will cost and estimate an ROI for each solution. I'm a fan of generally removing restrictions where those restrictions are big causes of crime (e.g. legalize marijuana, which will likely reduce drug crime; legalize prostitution, which will decrease sex trafficking and organized crime), but I want to look at the numbers before deciding which changes to make. We need more studies and policy proposals based on those studies, not populist crap to get reelected.
