Many Americans point to the north and say that we should emulate Canada’s gun control. They’ve got quite a bit of it, to be sure. It’s also a sure thing that they don’t have quite as much violent crime as the United States. What’s not such a sure thing is that these two facts are remotely related.

Especially since we know guns are smuggled into Canada all the time.

The Nova Scotia shooter, for example, smuggled his guns into the country from the U.S. despite laws in place in both nations designed to prevent that kind of thing.

Now, a group of men have been arrested for trying to do the same thing.

Federal agents arrested seven men Wednesday in connection with a conspiracy to illegally traffic firearms to Canada.

A federal grand jury charged the co-conspirators in an indictment returned on Aug. 19 and unsealed Wednesday afternoon.

In total, it is believed that the defendants conspired to smuggle more than 30 guns from Ohio to Canada from approximately July of 2018 through about the middle of 2019.

According to the indictment, the defendants acquired firearms both legally and illegally, stockpiled the firearms, and smuggled them to Canada in order to resell them for a profit.

It is alleged the group bought guns both through private sales and through straw purchases at gun shows.

And that’s what happens when gun laws tighten up in one country. Someone somewhere else will figure out how to funnel guns into that country for fun and profit. Well, mostly profit.

Of course, some will try to claim that if we tightened our own gun laws, people wouldn’t be trying to smuggle guns from the U.S. into Canada. However, note that they used straw purchases as well. That means they were prepared to buy guns from lawful gun sellers and smuggle them north. Unless you created a total gun ban, no law would actually stop those guns from flowing.

So what if there was a total gun ban? That would stop Americans from buying guns here and smuggling them north, right?

Maybe. But then guns would just be smuggled into the U.S. much like drugs are.

Let’s be clear, though. Those smuggled guns wouldn’t be going to the collectors. They wouldn’t be funneled to the guy who simply loves guns for the mechanical marvels that they are.

Oh no. Those firearms would be going to the worst society has to offer. They’ll go to the criminals who seek to prey upon our society. They’ll go to the scum of the Earth. (No, not Twilight fans. The other scum of the Earth.)

Meanwhile, we, the good people of this country, would be rendered powerless. They’d be completely unable to defend themselves from the bigger, stronger, and/or better armed criminals.

So long as there is a demand for something that actually exists, there will be people who will meet that demand. It doesn’t matter whether it’s lawful or not, someone will find a way to make a buck off that demand.

Kinda like the people smuggling guns to Canada.