brangdon, by freely available, you mean they broke into stores and stole them. But I get your meaning. And with regard to scenarios such as these, I don't necessarily disagree with you. Guns did make the situation worse.

However, in order to eliminate the possibility of thugs arming themselves, we would have to do away with all firearms, including hunt rifles, etc. And I don't believe that's realistic at this point. (I won't get into the Right to Bear arms, etc.)

But let's look at it from an economic standpoint. In the US, firearms, ammunition, hunting/shooting clothing and equipment is a multibillion dollar business. Heck, Cabela's retail store is like a small city in itself. How would we replace the jobs and income that exist as a result of this industry?

A society free of firearms might have been a great idea, if someone thought of it long ago. But this is where we're at now and we all need to figure out a way to deal with it. I don't know the answer, but until someone figures it out, I want to keep enjoying my sporting arms and the ability to protect my family if necessary.