Total ban fails to stop Chinese gun trade

* August 18th, 2010 8:39 am

"A clandestine market for unregistered weapons still exists despite crackdown," reporter Hu Yinan of China Daily informs us.

Illegal traders advertise with graffiti on walls, despite China's near total ban on private gun ownership. To what effect has the black market succeeded?

"In 2007, a study by the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International Studies estimated the total number of guns held by civilians in China at 40 million, third only to the United States and India."

The government, of course, disputes this. In truth, they don't know. No one does.

But despite seizures and destruction of confiscated firearms, the trade continues. It's too profitable not to, despite severe penalties for those caught in violation of Chinese citizen disarmament laws.

From a 2007 China Daily report by Zhu Zhe:

"High profits are deemed the biggest attraction for people who trade illegal guns, although those found guilty of selling guns or explosives face punishment ranging from three years in jail to the death penalty."

Welcome to Sarah Brady Paradise. China has every law--and then some--advocated by our domestic gun grabbers, and I'm talking pre-Heller/McDonald, when they were still going for total bans, as opposed to the so-called "reasonable common sense restrictions" they say they'll settle for, at least until a 5 to 4 Supreme Court ratio for an individual right shifts in their direction.

The photo of the task force officer examining a handmade pistol in "Writing on the Wall for Guns" says it all. As does this admission:

"'In two to three days, these gun traders make more money than we do in a month,' joked a gun taskforce member who did not want to be identified."

The paradox and unintended consequence for the gun banners is, the more they make owning a gun difficult, the more innovative and unregulated the market becomes. They create conditions where the real world outcome is exactly the opposite of what they say they want.

There's a lesson in there somewhere for all of us, and it's about a lot more than just guns.

------------

Speaking of McDonald...

The same day that decision took place, my editor at GUNS Magazine told me he could replace my scheduled "Rights Watch" column with a summary of the case if I could turn something out quickly. While magazines are generally poor places to report news due to the layout/publishing/distribution lag between article submission and the time they hit the stands, the story was too important not to cover.

The October 2010 issue is now out, and my column "Second Amendment Ruled Applicable To States" is in it.

Click here to read it. And click here to read other features, including a complete digital edition of this issue.