you know that old saying about statistics?  you can make them say anything you want?  so that means you have to look at the bias of the people quoting statistics.  IMO buying a gun should be much more difficult than it is, keeping a gun should be more difficult as well. One thing that most people ignore or are ignorant about the original purposes of the 2nd amendment is protecting ourselves from a tyrannical government. In this era you would think that purpose is no longer valid...when you consider other enemy nations and the current government which is following the precepts leading towards tyranny, you begin to wonder if that purpose is still valid.  Some folks believe that one of the reasons other countries don't like the idea of attacking the USA in force is because of the millions of guns we citizens have.   Do gun controls work?  I don't think they will as long as the controllers don't or can't do their jobs.