Quote from LodeRunner:
Banning guns would be catastrophic. Don't get me wrong, gun bans CAN work to an extent (though I am morally opposed to them), but you have to understand just how saturated we are. There are probably well over a billion guns in this country, most of which do not have a paper trail. A gun ban will only take guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens... there's no way for our government to seize guns that are not voluntarily surrendered, and there will be enough undocumented leftovers to arm every criminal in the country.
The drugs thing is spot-on, though. Instead of throwing millions of tax-paying citizens in jail (and spending ~$30,000/year each to provide them with food, medical care, etc.), let them out, legalize it and tax it.
Drug-related crime goes way down, because:
1. It isn't profitable for illicit dealers anymore (and the vast majority of drug-related violence comes from the dealers.)
2. It's *much* cheaper (even with the taxes), and your average McDonald's-working (or welfare collecting) loser doesn't have to steal in order to support their habit.
And if someone without self-control gets hooked on heroin, they can easy afford to escalate their dosage until they stop breathing--hence, fewer losers sucking down our welfare.
Never understood why the conservatives were the ones pushing the War on Drugs... it needlessly expands our government, and it just doesn't make any kind of fiscal sense.