In the wake of the recent Connecticut massacre of toddlers and their teachers, anti-gun lobbyists in both Canada and the USA have—predictably—raised a cry for the banning of some or all guns, ammunition, and multiple-round magazines.

Let’s start by admitting that there are far too many guns around—in the hands of criminals. In the USA, part of that glut of illegal guns is actually attributable to a federal government program, dubbed “Fast and Furious,” in which the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms encouraged the sale, by American gun dealers, of assault weapons to gangs in Mexico—where such gun ownership is forbidden. The result was the deaths of about 2,400 Mexicans, and of two American border guards.

But let’s also admit that it was not the firearms that killed those infants in Connecticut, nor the civilians and gang members in Mexico, nor the border guards in Arizona—it was, in every case, the people holding the guns. In Canada, where gun ownership is highly regulated, the most popular murder weapons are knives or bludgeons. But it is not the knives that kill people; it is the murderers.

New York’s Mayor Bloomberg, has called for a national ban on guns. His city already has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the USA; Washington, DC, has similarly strict regulations, and those cities’ rates of gun violence are among the highest in the country. Criminals—who constitute the real danger—by definition do not obey the laws.

The school in Connecticut was a “gun-free zone.” That may have been why the deranged young man who committed the murders chose it for his rampage: for as soon as the police were on the scene—able to resist him with guns—he committed suicide.

In Texas, Concealed Firearms Licences (CFLs) have been readily available to properly-trained citizens since 1996, and the number of CFL-holders who have abused that right in 16 years is vanishingly small: 0.19%. Less than one-fifth of one percent!

The Principal of Sandy Hook School tried to stop the gunman with words; that noble effort cost her life. But had she been trained and armed, she could have stopped him and saved many lives.

Agreed, gun crime penalties should be appropriately applied; CHP Canada has long contended that the penalty for any crime should be increased—we suggest doubled—if a gun is used; doubled again if the gun was loaded; and tripled, on top of that, if the gun is fired during the crime.

It’s criminal behaviour, not the criminals’ choice of weapon, against which we need legislation. Law-abiding citizens, properly trained and allowed to own and carry guns, provide a real protection against all forms of violence, for all of us—as university-level research has repeatedly shown. But when guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.