http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article2409817.ece I'll add to this that gun control greatly increases the relative power of the big against the small, as opposed to the many against the one. Since, in general, criminals are bigger than but outnumbered by citizens, this exacerbates the problem. Repeatedly, lone lunatics armed with pistols and carrying plenty of ammo gun down whole crowds of unarmed victims -- this is always used as an argument for gun control, but is more logically an argument against it.