rt. Therefore, if criminals get what they want without being hurt by using guns, why shouldn't the victims protect themselves with guns also? If criminals are aware that more people are protecting themselves with firearms, maybe that alone will deter criminals from attacking. This leads to the futility theorem that Polsby introduced. The futility theorem assumes that "the higher the number of victims a criminal assumes to be armed, the higher [the risk will be]- the price of assaulting them" (Polsby 3 of 11). Since criminals do not purchase guns legally, the laws are only being applied to those trying to protect themselves. "The class of people we wish to deprive of guns, then, is the very class with the most inelastic demand for them- criminals- whereas the people most likely to comply with gun control laws don't value guns in the first place" (Polsby 3 of 11).Instead of focusing on more gun control laws, the government should employ some alternate methods that will reduce the number of guns being carried illegally. Wilson suggests that police be allowed to perform reasonable suspicion tests (64). Reasonable suspicion tests can make it easier to confiscate illegally carried guns. Also, more severe punishments may deter criminals. Criminals, who commit crimes by using guns, should be punished more severely by the court's adding on to their original sentence. However, Wilson thinks that the "tougher the prospective sentence the less likely it is to be imposed, or at least imposed swiftly" (65). Modern science is another method that society can employ to reduce the number of illegal guns on the streets. Metal detectors at airports have reduced the number of airplane bombings to "nearly zero," but these detectors only work at a very close range (Wilson 66). If a gun detector was made that could detect at 10 to 15 feet, it would enable police to detect the presence of a "large lump of metal" in a suspect's pocket (Wilson 66)....
