There's something admirable about the idea that a government would not take away all the guns. The idea that people should not have to give up all of their ability to fight. The idea that people should not be entirely dependent on police for their defense. And the idea that physically weaker people (often women) can defend themselves against the strong.

Does this idea work? Surprisingly well. If you had to guess the effect of supplying a country with more guns than people -- some 300+ million -- you might guess that people would be dropping like flies. But the U.S. murder rate is not all that remarkable, really. Murder is not a major concern outside of a handful of dangerous areas.

And that's it, really. Guns are a problem in these few areas. But people everywhere else don't want to give up their guns because of a few areas where they are a problem. And they have a point: often in those dangerous places, existing laws against illegal gun sales or felon-in-possesseion aren't enforced very well.

One thing is for sure: picking around the edges by outlawing certain kinds of rifles or making all kinds of other weird laws won't do anything. Rifles are used in something like 2% of murders. Either you outlaw and collect all handguns (including revolvers), or don't bother.