Australia was the most recent country to ban handguns, and their violent crime rate soared. More and more states in the United States are enacting concealed carry handgun laws, where they allow citizens who pass tests relating to marksmenship, knowledge of criminal law, etc., to be licensed to carry handguns. Florida was the state to pioneer in this area. Their violent crime rate dropped dramatically. At the time, there were a lot of 'car-jackings', where people would pull up to a red light or stop sign and would have someone come crash in their window with a club and brandish a knife or gun, and hijack them and their car, and sometimes kill them, but always make them accompany them to an ATM and give a pass code and extract as much cash as possible. Quite frequently, though, people would be killed and their credit cards used for days or weeks, as well as their vehicle. Just because a government bans handguns or all guns does not mean that the criminal element will not obtain same illegally and use same against law-abiding citizens. But, in Florida, and now in more than 40 of the 50 states, where these concealed carry laws have been enacted, violent crime has decreased. Violent criminals have died by getting shot, and have learned by news and word-of-mouth that what they think is an 'easy mark' may actually not be so at all. If a government bans guns, then only the criminals will have guns. Even if they don't, the criminals will have clubs and knives, and then the elderly or weaker of mankind will not be able to protect themselves from the stronger and more aggressive of their species. Those who think that banning handguns will decrease shootings in schools and malls - well, maybe it will - but it will embolden criminals to act with violence with whatever tools they can get their hands on to take advantage of decent human beings, in greater and greater occurrences.