RE: Indy/Trying again...
You're right that "serious" criminals would find a way to get guns. You're also right that stricter enforcement is needed, also. The thing is, according to the study, crime DID drop when these steps (licensing, registration) were taken. The interesting point was that the crime rate was lowest in "states who were surrounded by others who had the same laws". That indicates to me, that if these steps were taken nationally, that guns would be even harder to get.
It's not the "serious" criminals who kill all the people anyway, it's all those amateurs who can't shoot straight.
If getting guns illegally were driven more undegroud, it would lessen the number of guns in the wrong hands. I may be wrong on this figure, but I think the articlae stated that HALF the guns used in crimes were purchased from an unscrupulous 1% of gun sellers. If these were shut down, that seems as if it might help. It also seems to belie the belief that guns are so easy to get, since if you were planning on comitting a crime, why would you buy from a dealer, if you could just "pick one up on the street"? In my neighborhood, which has it's share of crimes, and gangs, there seems to be VERY FEW places to get an illegal gun, and those are VERY expensive. Most of the guns the gangs use are stolen, or purchased through dealers.
I think that registration and licensing are coming, and the NRA-types need to get their heads out of their butts, and stop this "guns don't kill people, people kill people" bullshit, and start, not only co-operating (remember the stink they put up over putting indentity traces in explosives?), but working towards a constitutional revision that will prohibit the very roundup of weapons that they fear so much. They certainly sem to have the time and money for such a drive.
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
