Criminals Don’t Buy Their Guns Legally
Russ Chastain 09.08.15
Well, what do you know? It took a college study to reveal the glaringly obvious: Criminals don’t obey laws, including gun laws.
Duh.
According to a Chicago Sun-Times article, the University of Chicago Crime Lab study surveyed almost 100 folks jailed in Cook County, Illinois (think Chicago). Most said they’d put their hands on a gun within 6 months or less of their release from jail and that they would most certainly not get their guns through legal channels. And no, they generally don’t steal them.
Their main reasons for getting guns are not so different than yours and mine: Self-defense. And sure, there are laws saying they’re not allowed to have guns, but they’d rather be punished if caught by police than to be caught without a gun.
‘Many gave some version of the phrase “I’d rather be judged by 12 than be carried by six,”‘ [UC Crime Lab co-director] Pollack said.
The private interviews were anonymous and were done with “selected inmates who were facing gun charges or whose criminal background involved gun crimes.”
About 70 percent said they got their guns from family, fellow gang members, or through other social connections. Only two said they bought a gun at a store. It’s unclear how many of those surveyed were felons, but they can’t hold a state firearm owner’s permit, so they can’t legally purchase a weapon at a store.
Go figure.
Yet another piece of proof that criminals don’t obey laws, therefore, gun control laws serve only to harm and hinder regular, law-abiding people.
You can read the entire study here.
