"If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns"

One of the most common phrases heard in support of the second amendment is "If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns." The reason this phrase has become so cliche is because it goes to support everything the second amendment stands for. Whether it be to protect your home and family, legally pursue game animals, or to prevent tyranny, if legislation is passed to prevent legal ownership of firearms, the only people owning guns with be the criminals. According to a survey done by the DOJ in 2004 where inmates accused of gun crimes were asked about the method they used in obtain the firearm. These are the results:

• 2% say they acquired their gun from a flea market or gun show.
• 10% said they acquired their gun from a legal retailer
• 37% said they illegally obtained it from family or friends
• 40% obtained it through theft or other illicit measures

Now by looking at these statistics, we see that it is not the legal gun owners that are the problem, it's the criminals that are the problem.