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The crux of the issue is really much deeper than guns. The heart of the issue is the rights of the public vs. the rights of the individual. Proponents of gun-control expouse the supposed right of the public to live in a crime-free society and tell us that strict gun control laws work towards that goal. As has been pointed out, however, gun control laws cannot be demonstrated to have a meaningful correlation to the overall violent crime rate.
Opponents of strict gun control laws, including most of us here, look at it from this perspective: regardless of how strict laws are and the severity of punishments for breaking said laws, violent crime still occurs. I am a firm proponent of individual right as well as individual responsibility. I understand that no one, including the police, can protect me from violence 100% of the time. As such, I believe that the ultimate responsibility for one's own personal safety rests upon the individual. Because I bear ultimate responsibility for my own safety, I should be able to own and use the most effective tools to guarantee that safety. By removing or severely restricting my access to firearms, which are the most effective means of self-defense, the government has stripped away a good deal of my individual rights while providing collective rights that are questionable at best.
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