Its possible that gun crime would have risen at a higher rate with out the ban. It may even be probable. But what the figures indisputably show is that legally held firearms are not the primary drivers behind the use of firearms in crime.
The anti-gun brigade always like to point to the US and the high crime and murder rates there correlated with the high level of gun ownership there. But across the border in Canada, they have a very low murder and violent crime rate and gun ownership dwarfs even that of the US. Hell, most houses in Switzerland contain assault rifles, yet its one of the safest places to live in.the.world.
Gun crime is only loosely linked to gun ownership rates. Its more about a culture of criminal violence than anything else.
Is that true? I would have thought the majority of gun crime involved replicas, fake guns, toy guns, bananas in socks, fingers in pockets, converted starter pistols and flare guns, and illegally imported handguns from the US, eastern Europe and other parts......