I agree, you are riding the short bus. It is all really simple. If a firearm is used in a crime and then destroyed it does not exist anymore. If the guy who pulled a handgun robbing a convenience store spends 5 extra years in jail because he did it, then (guess what) he is not out there committing more crimes.
The pro-gun lobby is just a bunch of whiny bitches. Don't place restrictions on me because I am a law abiding person. Hey buddy, welcome to the ******* real world (and they all say they are law abiding). There are a lot of non-law abiding people. IF you punish them it is a disincentive for them not to commit that crime. If you were really a law abiding citizen then you would not mind registering your weapons because you would have nothing to hide. But you are stuck in your fantasy I want to rebel against the government world and think that guns, because of the 2nd amendment to make sure that this nation had resources to defend itself (ie a militia) when the regular army was weak, have this special little place and they should be subject to absolutely no regulation whatsoever. As to whether the laws in place prevent crime or not, nobody knows. Neither side has any ******* idea if they work in the United States, and if they tell you that they do they are full of s***. The gun laws we have right now are so watered down and useless that I doubt they have any effect at all.