As usual, I have some advice for people on my side.

I will acknowledge that I've made statements that could be seen as adjacent to, "Criminals don't obey laws." in regard to gun control; but, I've completely stopped using that specific wording.

The reason is clear to me -- you're justifying your opposition to push you off a greased precipice. Yeah, murderers don't obey laws against murder. Rapists don't follow laws against rape. That doesn't mean that we should repeal laws against murder and rape.

I think that most people who are using those specific words intend to convey a more reasonable message; but, they're getting the words wrong.

If we really want to put our opponents in a corner, it's not that hard to point to existing laws or proposed laws that would land a person who you're not afraid of in prison for ten or more years, and wouldn't be a concern for people who you are rationally afraid of.

Proportionality is also a factor.

For instance, suppressors are one of the most heavily regulated firearm accessories in these United States; but, research straight from the federal government showed only 153 federal prosecutions over ten years. Of those 153, 80% didn't even involve a firearm being discharged. Only 2% involved a suppressed firearm going off. Even fewer of these charges resulted in convictions. Still, again, being charged with a crime, even if you're acquitted, is a massive burden. By the government's own numbers, over a ten year period, you were about 75 times more likely to face federal charges for getting your paperwork wrong on your application to get a suppressor than you were to be charged for actually shooting a suppressed firearm illegally.

Murderers and rapists don't go to prison for simply possessing what they used as weapons for committing their crimes.

The only people who are specifically punished for being in possession of a weapon are people who didn't want to hurt anybody.

This is basic logic.

Your ban on firearms on the New York metro isn't going to deter the dude who intends to commit a crime that will land him in prison for the rest of his life if he gets caught and convicted. What is already done, and has done several times in my lifetime and before, is serve as a means to throw demonstrably innocent, harmless people, who would have been victims of violent criminals had they not had a firearm, who simply became victims of your fucking law because their choice that they would rather be judged by twelve of their peers than carried by six ran afoul of your dumb, fucking law.

This should be a constant question, "Is this law going to put more good people in danger of government force, or more bad people?"

I challenge everybody to point to a gun law that's more likely to punish a bad guy than a good guy who just made an honest mistake.