We are putting much effort into getting gun control enacted in the US, and that's all nice and well, were it not for the fact that we need to go further. MUCH further. In order to get American crime levels to decrease to a reasonable level, and to come close to equaling the safety found in European countries such as the UK, we need to enact three major new laws.
1. A complete ban on all firearms (and many other weapons.)
Compare the US to China. The US has 4.8 murders per 100,000 people, and the vast majority of these murders are committed by firearms and knives. Meanwhile, China has a rate one fifth as high: 1.0 per 100,000 people. What is the difference? In China, there is a complete ban on civilian gun ownership. This ban extends to all types of guns, not only assault rifles and pistols, but also airguns and airsoft guns. China also bans the civilian use of pepper spray, tasers, many types of knives, and crossbows. China's per capita GDP is only 10,000 dollars per person, compared to our almost 50,000 per person. Imagine how much safer a rich country such as the US could be if nobody was allowed to have any dangerous weapons, such as guns of all types, tasers, bows, or knives. Of course, the gun nuts will resist, but the FBI and police and Army can easily deal with them. Also, hunters might be angered at first, but this anger will die down once they realize they can just go to the supermarket and buy meat (which will also save many more animals.) And the crazy, sick minds who shoot make believe targets for "sport" were going to kill somebody anyway, so its best we take the guns away from them. They can play video games if they are really that sick.
2. An elimination of the "right" to self defense
I am completely flabbergasted that in a civilized country, people have the right to hurt and even kill anybody else simply to get revenge for some small wrongdoing. If some poor, starving young man tries to steal my TV just to support his family, and I hit him with a baseball bat, I AM THE CRIMINAL HERE!!! Goods are replaceable, and money isn't worth hurting somebody over. And if you feel your life is really in danger (chances are its not, and you're just a racist freak who thinks that the "ni--a" who is stealing some jewelry from you to feed his family is some evil gangster, when you are the truly evil one), you can just call the cops. Its their job to protect you. And rape is a terrible crime, don;t get me wrong. But the best way to deal with it is not to let women spray rapists eyes with pepper spray, its to get these poor victims access to any medications, family planning services, and counseling they need at no cost to them. Look at the UK, where one may not carry any weapons or objects with the intent to use them for self defense. Their murder rate is a fraction of ours, at 1.2 per 100,00 people. It would probably be lowered if they outlawed self defense entirely. That would remove all those would be vigilantes and cowboys who wish to turn a civilized place into the Wild West.
3. Cuts to Police Department powers and size
The police often cause more crime than they solve. Look at all the police brutality during Occupy Wall Street, where peaceful protesters were dragged across Zucotti Park in handcuffs, beaten and hurt. Look at the Rodney King beating, where racist policemen beat an innocent black man to within inches of his life. At a start, policemen should not be armed at all (and they won't need to be after guns, knives, and all other weapons are banned.) When you have weapons, you WILL use them for evil purposes. Also, with school budgets and welfare programs being underfunded, we could afford to cut a whole bunch of racist cops and use their salary and pension money to pay for new textbooks and computer labs, or food stamps for the needy.
Conclusion:
These goals seem lofty, I admit, but we are getting there. Only 40 percent of Americans own guns today, down from over 60 in the bad old days of segregation and DOMA. Hopefully, within the next decade, the numbers will have dropped enough so that all guns are easily confiscated. Certainly, requiring registration of ALL guns, whether they be an AK 47, a hunting rifle, or an airsoft gun, will help. As for other weapons, I am confident we can ban pocketknives, hunting knives, and swords today, as well as make it a crime to use pepper spray or tasers. As for self defense, remove it as a legal defense. Charge everybody involved in a crime in the same, impartial manner, instead of rewarding wannabe Rambos and John Waynes. Give lautomatic life imprisonment without parole to anybody who kills or badly injures anybody else, and don;t let self defense be an excuse to keep those monsters off the streets. And as for police cuts, the vast majority of the population feels that police powers are too strong today, what with the stop and frisk controversy. And we all want more pencils and books for our schools and soup kitchens for the less fortunate. Cutting police budgets will be no problem at all.