We often say that criminals don't obey the law. The reason we say that is because, well, it's true. It's kind of part of the job description, after all. A "law-abiding criminal" is an oxymoron that's great for sarcasm and otherwise just isn't a thing.

But some people still want gun control. They honestly seem to think that gun control will stop crime.

Oh, I know that some want it for other reasons, but your rank-and-file activist actually thinks it'll reduce crime. After all, if it's hard for us to get guns, criminals can't get them either.

Well, is that so? This case suggests otherwise.

Albemarle police arrested two underage boys after a chase involving a stolen car.  Officers are still searching for a third suspect.

The department says an police officer’s patrol car was nearly hit by a car that ran a stop sign at Arey Avenue and East Main Street around 2:30 am on Sunday, November 10, 2024.

...

One of the young men was arrested at the scene on South Morrow Street.  The Stanly County Sheriff’s Office helped with a Police K-9 search and officers were able to arrest the second young man. Police say both suspects resisted arrest and had guns.

The suspects are believed to possibly be responsible for three other car thefts recently. These are juveniles, so there's no identifying information in the report, but that also means they're too young to lawfully buy any firearms, much less handguns. 

And yet...

See, the truth is that most guns in criminal hands don't come from lawful sales. Few even come from straw purchases. Most come from theft or via a black market sale, which generally involves theft as well. 

If these three--the two arrested and the third suspect--were stealing cars, then they either found guns in cars they stole or they may not have just stolen cars. They might also have gotten the guns from someone else who wasn't picky about the buyers' ages.

See, the issue here is, as I already noted, criminals aren't going to follow the law. Further, criminals have a tendency to connect with other criminals. That means they have avenues for getting things that are closed off to the law-abiding folks running around. 

You're not going to disarm criminals by making it harder for the law-abiding. That's never going to work and we all know it. Look at Prohibition for a moment if you don't believe me. Drinking alcohol was banned everywhere in the United States with a couple of exceptions "for medicinal use." Yet plenty of people made fortunes selling illegal booze to people who wanted it and were willing to pay for it.

And whiskey isn't really a lifesaving device like a firearm and it can't be used to settle the score with an enemy.

If they'd go through that for a drink, imagine what they'll keep doing for guns.

In this case, children got guns and stole cars. It's not just kids, either. We've seen it among kids, among felons, and among pretty much anyone who isn't supposed to have a gun but doesn't care what the law says.

Gun control is never going to stop them.