Not to get into a gun control debate here, but my point was that it is ridiculous to argue for the circumvention of the legislative process just because things seem to work in other places. As the saying goes, all politics is local.
That said, to address your rhetorical point...it's not just about hardened criminals. It's not an either or situation...there's many types of states between evil criminal and innocent civilian. Just as suicide barriers and other inconveniences actually deter suicides...even though you think that anyone who would commit suicide would bypass them...gun control laws deter those who would commit gun crimes just because they had a gun at the moment.
I'll give you a concrete example. In NYC, I've seen pedestrians and cyclists kick and punch cars that nearly run them over...and this is not an uncommon sight during rush hour, this is something I almost NEVER saw anywhere else...because in those places, you had to worry that the driver was legally carrying a gun.
In NYC, of course, the driver could conceivably have a gun...but you know what, that is a very unlikely situation, because it is not worth carrying a gun in the event that you get pulled over for a traffic infraction. And so those who might commit a crime out of hotheadedness are significantly inconvenienced by gun control laws...reducing the chance that any hothead fight results in gunfire.
And in a city as tightly packed as NYC, that is not a non-trivial benefit. I haven't been in favor of gun control laws in any of the rural areas I've lived, but in NyC, I realize it's a different situation that requires different thinking on the laws.