The Case For Guns - We The People: When Laws Fail, Who Pays the Price?

Originally Written: June 23, 2019 | Revised and Updated: July 1, 2025

By Hootey Cline, Blue Coat Arms Company

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The Accountability Problem

Every time a mass shooting occurs, politicians waste no time placing blame at the feet of law-abiding citizens instead of the criminals who committed the crimes. This knee-jerk reaction has led to a relentless push for gun control laws that restrict the constitutional rights of citizens to purchase firearms for self-defense.

Mark Robinson from Greensboro, NC, captured this perfectly when he said: "Law-abiding citizens are the first ones taxed, the last ones considered, and the first ones punished because our rights are the only ones being taken away."

The Fundamental Flaw in Gun Control Logic

Here's the uncomfortable truth politicians don't want to acknowledge: criminals don't follow laws. No matter how many new restrictions are written, criminals will continue to ignore them. Yet somehow, the proposed solution is always to create more laws that only affect people who already follow the law.

This creates a dangerous cycle:

• Law-abiding citizens face increasing restrictions

• Criminals continue operating outside the law

• The gap between legal gun owners and criminal actors widens

• Politicians claim they're "doing something" while solving nothing

The Enforcement Reality Check

Let's talk about practical enforcement. How exactly does the government plan to confiscate over 400 million firearms from American citizens? Law enforcement is already stretched thin enforcing current laws, and across the country, we're seeing:

• Police departments understaffed and overwhelmed

• Criminal justice systems releasing violent offenders

• District attorneys refusing to prosecute gun crimes

• Law enforcement officers being demonized while criminals are portrayed as victims

The Aurora, Illinois workplace shooting in February 2019 is a perfect example. The shooter was a prohibited person who should never have had access to firearms under existing laws. Yet Illinois politicians responded by demanding more restrictions on legal gun owners rather than addressing the enforcement failures that allowed the tragedy to occur.

The Chicago Case Study: When Strict Laws Don't Work

Chicago provides the most compelling evidence that gun control laws don't reduce violence. Despite having some of the strictest gun laws in the country and being under Democratic control for decades, Chicago continues to struggle with violence.

However, recent data shows some encouraging trends:

• 2024: Chicago recorded 573 homicides (down 8% from 2023)

• 2025 (through June): Homicides down 33% compared to the same period in 2024

• First half of 2025: 166 people killed compared to 258 in the first half of 2024

While these improvements are encouraging, Chicago still led the nation in total homicides for the 13th consecutive year in 2024. The question remains: if strict gun laws were the solution, why did it take so long to see improvement? And what changed that finally started reducing violence?

The answer isn't more gun laws – it's better enforcement of existing laws and addressing the root causes of violence: economic opportunity, education, family stability, and community investment.

Who Really Suffers?

When politicians push for gun confiscation or extreme restrictions, who bears the burden?

Law-abiding citizens will:

• Turn in their firearms or face criminal penalties

• Lose their constitutional rights

• Become defenseless against criminals who keep their guns

Criminals will:

• Ignore the new laws (just like they ignore current ones)

• Maintain their illegal firearms

• Face a population of increasingly defenseless victims

This isn't speculation – it's exactly what happened in countries like Australia and the UK, where gun confiscation preceded spikes in other violent crimes.

The Majority vs. The Vocal Minority

When will the majority matter to politicians? The vast majority of Americans are law-abiding citizens who:

• Pay their taxes

• Follow the law

• Want to protect their families

• Respect the rights of others

• Support reasonable law enforcement

Yet every time there's a shooting, these citizens – who had nothing to do with the crime – are immediately blamed and face calls for their rights to be restricted.

Meanwhile, the actual criminals who commit these acts are often:

• Already prohibited from owning firearms

• Already breaking multiple laws

• Ignored by prosecutors who plea-bargain gun charges away

• Released early from prison despite violent histories

The Real Questions We Should Be Asking

Instead of asking "How can we restrict more rights from law-abiding citizens?" we should be asking:

1. Why aren't we enforcing existing laws? We have over 20,000 federal, state, and local laws regulating firearms. Are we using them?

2. Why do prosecutors plea away gun charges? If using a gun in a crime is serious enough to justify new laws, why do we routinely reduce these charges in plea deals?

3. Why are violent criminals released early? If someone has proven they're dangerous with weapons, why are they back on the street?

4. What about the root causes? Mental health, economic opportunity, education, and family stability all correlate with violence rates. Are we addressing these?

The Constitutional Reality

The Second Amendment isn't a suggestion – it's a constitutional right. When politicians propose laws that would be immediately struck down if applied to the First Amendment (prior restraint, licensing requirements, registration), we should ask why the Second Amendment gets different treatment.

As I discussed in previous articles, the Bill of Rights was designed to restrain government power, not grant rights to citizens. Our rights predate government – they're natural rights that government exists to protect, not regulate away.

Moving Forward: Real Solutions

If we're serious about reducing violence while respecting constitutional rights, we need to focus on:

Enforcement First:

• Prosecute gun crimes to the fullest extent

• Stop plea-bargaining away weapons charges

• Ensure prohibited persons can't access firearms through existing systems

Address Root Causes:

• Mental health resources and intervention

• Economic opportunity in high-crime areas

• Educational opportunities for at-risk youth

• Community investment and family support

Constitutional Compliance:

• Respect the rights of law-abiding citizens

• Focus restrictions on criminals, not constitutional rights

• Ensure due process in any rights-related proceedings

The Bottom Line

We can't legislate away evil, and we can't make society safer by disarming the good guys. Every new gun law that restricts law-abiding citizens while failing to address criminal behavior makes the problem worse, not better.

The recent improvements in Chicago's crime statistics didn't come from new gun laws – they came from better policing, community engagement, and addressing some of the underlying social issues that drive violence.

It's time for politicians to stop punishing law-abiding citizens for the crimes of others and start focusing on solutions that actually work: enforcing existing laws, addressing root causes of violence, and respecting the constitutional rights of all Americans.

As Mark Robinson said, law-abiding citizens shouldn't be the first ones punished when criminals commit crimes. We're the majority, we follow the law, and we deserve better from our elected officials.