[jtriangle]

For 500 bucks worth of crypto anyone in the world can get a reasonably competent full auto AK with a box of milsurp ammo.

If that's your definition of "hard", I'd say you're setting that bar far too low.

[bscphil]

And the overwhelming majority of people, including thieves, don't do this, because the raised barrier to entry makes gun crimes vastly less attractive. Combine that with a broad social safety net that reduces poverty, and you miraculously get homicide rates dropping through the floor: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_countries_by_...

[akira2501]

> because the raised barrier to entry makes gun crimes vastly less attractive.

Is that assertion based on study or "common sense?" It may well be that they don't feel the need to bring a gun because they know their victims are definitely not going to be armed anyways.

The real question would, do the criminals not use a weapon at all, or do they use weapons that just don't happen to be guns?

> broad social safety net that reduces poverty

People aren't being shot in the US because of poverty. The _majority_ of "gun violence" in the US is actually suicides. It's nearly 2/3 of that terrible statistical category. The remainder of murders typically involve alcohol and arguments.

The majority of murder victims in the US know their murderer by name and have been acquainted with them for years. Means. Motive. Opportunity. These things don't change.