The most recent mass shooting in Monterey Park, California, has once again brought attention to the fact that criminals may still obtain illicit firearms in spite of gun control regulations. California Governor Gavin Newsom called the Second Amendment a “death pact” in an interview with Norah O’Donnell from CBS News. Yet when O’Donnell questioned Newsom for more information about how the shooter was able to obtain an unauthorized modified weapon with a large-capacity magazine, Newsom immediately changed his tune and declined to go into more detail.
This tragic tragedy serves as yet another reminder that violent crime and mass shootings are nonetheless common in deep blue states like Illinois, California, and New York, despite the implementation of strict gun control laws in those jurisdictions. Any justifications put up to support gun control laws have been shown to be totally ineffective at preventing disasters like this one.
In fact, there is data that suggests that restrictions on the possession of firearms actually make it simpler for criminals to obtain them. For instance, state crime rates increased while overall rates considerably decreased when Massachusetts implemented the nation’s harshest gun control law in 1998, requiring background checks and a two-week waiting period before someone could purchase a handgun. According to the data, there were fewer legal purchases of firearms by law-abiding persons, which increased the likelihood that criminals would get access to them.
So, it is evident that limits on lawful gun ownership are ineffective and ultimately ineffective at preventing criminals from obtaining firearms. Only by concentrating our efforts on combating the underlying causes of violence and crime, such as poverty and mental health concerns, will tragedies like this one be avoided in the future. Simply said, if we want to protect our communities from violent gun owners, we must consider more than just amending the law; we must also address the underlying societal problems that cause people to act in this way in the first place.
