The state of Massachusetts has long been a bastion of gun control, a fact I find incredibly ironic since that's where Lexington and Concord are. The American Revolution was sparked not by British troops just walking into town but by them showing up to take away guns.

And yet, here we are.

While Massachusetts may not be the worst offender when it comes to infringing on people's right to keep and bear arms, it hasn't been for lack of trying. They're not becoming pro-gun by any metric you care to use.

Yet it seems that despite all that gun control, bad guys in Massachusetts have no problem getting all kinds of firearms they're not supposed to have.

Police in Springfield seized five illegal guns, including two machine guns and eight Glock switches, after executing a search warrant on Plainfield Street on Friday.

Investigators said they were tipped off that 18-year-old Jemsen Ortiz allegedly had a gun with a Glock switch attached, which makes the weapon a fully-automatic machine gun.

...

Police said they found five illegal guns, eight Glock switches, over a dozen large-capacity magazines, drugs, and cash.

So it seems the two machine guns were Glocks with full-auto switches attached. Full-auto weapons of any kind are the most tightly regulated firearms in the nation, requiring special licenses and approval from local law enforcement before anyone can buy them lawfully. Further, the availability of such weapons was reduced due to citizens only being able to buy guns made before 1986.

Couple that with all of Massachusetts gun control and what we have here is a prime example of gun control not accomplishing a blasted thing.

Full-auto switches aren't exactly sitting in corner gun stores, after all. 

What's more, Massachusetts can't do like many other states and try to blame this on more gun-friendly jurisdiction because these bad boys are federally restricted. Sure, you could make that case with the magazines and maybe the Glocks themselves, but the switches? Nope.

See, when you have a criminal who wants something, laws are an inconvenience at best. If they want it badly enough and have the money, they'll find a way to get it. Someone will know someone and they'll get what they want.

And full-auto switches are apparently way too easy to make and, failing that, are easily found and bought from China.

All the gun control in the world hasn't stopped them from turning up on American shores, and think about how many people claim we wouldn't have "gun crime" if we treated all guns similarly. They're out of their mind.

Gun control doesn't stop criminals.

What it does, though, is keep law-abiding citizens from being able to meet the potential threat. Someone with a concealed carry permit in Boston isn't going to have a full-auto switch on his gun because the law prohibits it. The guy who decides to shoot up the armed citizen's neighborhood, though, does. 

The average citizen is outgunned in their own homes.

It's well past time to knock this nonsense off and focus on the real issue: People. 

Putting guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens will help a great deal, but so will taking steps to reduce people's desire to commit violent crime through whatever legal means available to help them on the straight and narrow.