Oogway said:how is everybody having a gun to protect themselves from people with guns better than nobody having guns at all.
Two points:
1. This would be fine if you could push a magic button and make all guns disappear forever. Since no such button will ever exist, the criminals will always find a way to have guns, as they do everywhere in the world, no matter what words the politicians write down on a piece of paper.
2. The invention, and refinement, of the firearm makes the smallest weakest person able to resist a criminal attack from the largest strongest man, or a group of men. THIS is the benefit of guns to society. In the old days, the biggest strongest brutish man could basically do whatever he wanted to whom ever he wanted. Other weapons took a lot of skill, strength and speed to wield effectively, and even then, a large man could usually over come them. So, in a society where the strong prey upon the weak, a firearm is a very effective self defense tool.