The No Victim, No Crime got me thinking about this. Many posters there seem to have the attitude that no matter what the law, bad guys will do bad things.
I disagree. Laws do, in fact, deter crime. To some this statement may be tantamount to water is wet. Others may disagree.
Statistics show that the number of abortions increased greatly after Roe v. Wade; capital murder rates decreased when states re-instituted capital punishment; etc. Statistics aside, it's basic organism behavior to not repeat punishing behavior, but rewarding behavior instead. How many of you take the chance to drive after a couple or a few beers on New Years Eve? Chance are you'd be OK, but you wouldn't risk getting caught. The law worked. How many of you (including criminals) would risk taking a firearm into the City/County building? You wouldn't because the punishment would be harsh. The regulation worked. Why shouldn't these restrictions be extended?
Do you all honestly believe that tougher gun laws would not decrease deaths caused by guns? Sure, some sociopaths will do what they want to do no matter what, but most sane criminals will be disincentivised if the punishment were hard enough. As a result gun-related deaths should drop significantly. Innocent by-standers (including infants and other minors) would not lose their lives in drive-by shootings, negligent deaths caused by firearms would not happen... I'm sure you follow my drift.
I disagree. Laws do, in fact, deter crime. To some this statement may be tantamount to water is wet. Others may disagree.
Statistics show that the number of abortions increased greatly after Roe v. Wade; capital murder rates decreased when states re-instituted capital punishment; etc. Statistics aside, it's basic organism behavior to not repeat punishing behavior, but rewarding behavior instead. How many of you take the chance to drive after a couple or a few beers on New Years Eve? Chance are you'd be OK, but you wouldn't risk getting caught. The law worked. How many of you (including criminals) would risk taking a firearm into the City/County building? You wouldn't because the punishment would be harsh. The regulation worked. Why shouldn't these restrictions be extended?
Do you all honestly believe that tougher gun laws would not decrease deaths caused by guns? Sure, some sociopaths will do what they want to do no matter what, but most sane criminals will be disincentivised if the punishment were hard enough. As a result gun-related deaths should drop significantly. Innocent by-standers (including infants and other minors) would not lose their lives in drive-by shootings, negligent deaths caused by firearms would not happen... I'm sure you follow my drift.