Uncommon Commentary #317: Were it Possible to Wish Something out of Existence, Self-Righteous Anti-Gun Crusaders Would Have Disappeared, Thanks to Me

It has sometimes been noted that crime rates actually rise as a result of bans on gun ownership, even in island countries which have no neighbors from where such weapons can be smuggled in; I've never seen it explained why this happens, however, and so I'll here attempt to give an explanation that can be understood even by a Holly-woodhead. (Whether "gun control" proponents will allow themselves to understand it remains problematic; I suspect strongly that many leftists don't even care whether restrictions on the sale and use of guns reduce crime, since what they really want is not to prevent another Newtown-style tragedy but rather to punish firearm owners, whom they consider to be the Enemy, equating them with White supremacists, religious fanatics, &c.)  When possession of guns is outlawed, the law-abiding surrender theirs to the authorities, but the law-breaking retain their firearms and then use them to commit crimes versus the law-abiding, who, now disarmed, make easier targets for the law-breaking than they did before.  It's that simple.  In the USA, there is nearly one privately-owned firearm for each man, woman, and child; perhaps that's too many, but we can't simply wish them out of existence.