The purpose of most gun laws, at least as expressed by those who support them, is to keep guns out of criminal hands and to keep people safe. Few gun control activists will claim they want to disarm law-abiding citizens. Part of that is probably just political expedience–it’s just not kosher to want to disarm everyone, even today–and part is that some really don’t want to disarm the law-abiding.

Yet, despite the laws on the books, criminals keep getting guns. It’s like gun laws don’t actually stop them. Here’s one example of just how they bypass them.

Metro Police officers assigned a Juvenile Crime Task Force Unit to the Knollcrest Apartments on Creekwood Drive when they noticed a group of people standing around a silver Buick on Saturday. According to a Metro Police affidavit, when police approached the group, the suspect, identified as Deshawn Williams, fled to a nearby apartment. … After obtaining permission to search the apartment, officers found a .357 magnum revolver in a bedroom closet. A check of this weapon revealed it to have been reported stolen out of Hendersonville. Police then went to the vehicle that Williams was standing by and noticed a black 9mm handgun in plain view, which was reportedly stolen from Davidson County. Williams denied being in possession of these weapons, but was found to be in constructive possession of them due to close proximity.

In short, it appears this convicted felon was in possession of two stolen guns.

Aren’t gun laws supposed to stop this from happening? Isn’t the purpose of those laws to keep guns out of the wrong hands?

The fact is, gun laws keep guns out of those hands legally. What that means is that a convicted felon can’t walk into a gun store and purchase a firearm legally and then commit crimes again.

So instead, they steal guns from people who aren’t prohibited. They buy guns from others who have stolen the firearms. They obtain them outside of the law in any way they can.

Meanwhile, gun control activists look at the unlawful acts committed with these unlawfully obtained guns and think we need more laws. They don’t get that the laws aren’t working because those who will break the law with a gun will damn sure break the law to obtain a gun.

What Williams is alleged to have done, being in possession of two firearms despite his status as a felon, should tell you all you need to know about the effectiveness of gun control. The fact that he ran from the cops immediately indicates that we’re not talking about a master criminal here, someone too smart to be stopped by mere laws. No, we’re talking about a street-level guy who can’t figure out how to not grab the attention of the police.

If someone like that can get guns, then maybe it’s time to start acknowledging that the gun laws aren’t working and, if you’re serious about curbing violence, try something else?