If gun laws worked, California would not only be the safest place in the country, but the police would almost never make a firearm arrest.

However, that’s far from an accurate portrayal of what California is today.

For example, we have this post from the LAPD about a recent arrest they made.

https://www.facebook.com/lapdhq/posts/2588824864479707?__xts__[0]=68.ARBUxeYS4QSTG8x7Byi1xyxzIMhs222KC6simR4C0EFSGiNR8s9yddgenUcOiTy2Ga8wdzC6lSbGJmqcQk_0WNDcT-ZgyfqUkjlgvX6zJDsF70WD0-suv9VSWkeEi6zGPKNYw3oFrKsjxcEG13h3jCrPnw9C1zk_BC9Jr2MdzQk7FGWALejSbZN79wCzlbh65KuA5bjIYOq1GkSmcQSBx7f-5xwqAp8bN3peU7GJgSgCqEXY1FzQkoQXkFWDat-MWNRCXeTJvsfM41oeeiLdxqMmWaEl53hTC6nfjtIWOkRVaZD9puGfpNvIcyNV3TxB2CXztxupQSE5UyryWLlm-PgphQ&__tn__=-R

Just…wow.

Now, a number of those firearms look like the kind of things you’d find in any number of average, law-abiding gun owners’ safes. There are pump actions, bolt actions, revolvers, and a number of other weapons that may be semi-automatics. From here, it’s hard to tell.

But it looks like there’s at least one belt-fed weapon and that the man was charged, which indicates not everything was legal.

Worse, though, he all but bragged to police to check him out.

On Saturday morning, a bystander flagged down officers after seeing the man carrying a rifle as he drove his motorcycle near South Figueroa Street and West Gage Avenue, LAPD Officer Drake Madison said. Police found the man leaving a gas station not far from where he was first seen.

John Menzies, 50, was carrying a loaded handgun in his waistband, as well as a loaded assault rifle when he was pulled over, Madison said.

The LAPD later searched Menzies’ South Los Angeles home and found a rocket launcher, TNT and PETN explosives, 24 rifles, 12 handguns and silencers.

Subtle, this gentleman ain’t.

Of course, that does leave questions as to whether this was a live rocket launcher or not. A number of times, law enforcement has paid out a lot of money for training tubes in buyback programs, so it’s safe to say that they’re not versed in identifying training launchers from real ones. In fairness, neither am I, so they may well have flubbed up again. I can’t tell.

Since the guy also had TNT and PETN, I’m willing to give the LAPD the benefit of the doubt on this one. After all, the man clearly likes to make stuff go boom.

This, I can respect.

Regardless, it’s interesting that despite California’s mountain of gun laws, someone was able to amass all of these weapons, including some that warrant federal weapons charges. I mean, gun laws keep criminals from getting guns, right? That’s what we hear over and over and over.

Yet here we see someone who had all kinds of stuff he allegedly wasn’t supposed to have in a state where he shouldn’t have been able to get it. What gives?

Maybe it’s the fact that gun laws never have and will never work. The only time you will ever see criminals no longer interested in firearms is when we create weapons that work more effectively but defy the definition of “firearm.” Man-portable rail guns, lasers, and all of that is the stuff of science fiction, however. The facts right now are that criminals want guns and they will get guns. Lots and lots of them, if they want them.

And gun control laws? They’re not stopping them.

Instead, they only stop the law-abiding citizen who wants to protect himself and his family. How do gun control activists not grasp this?