One of the failures of gun control is that many people are unaware of the laws put into place that prohibit the possession of firearms:
One of the biggest manhunts in recent French history is under way after four people were shot dead at a Jewish school in Toulouse.
Police have linked the attack to two shootings last week in which three soldiers of North African descent died.
The same gun and the same stolen scooter were used in all three attacks, sources close to the investigation say.
According to the anti-gunners banning firearms will prevent violent crimes such as the ones mentioned above. The story states that the attacker has two handguns in his possession:
A 17-year-old boy was seriously hurt. Initially, the killer used a 9mm gun, but when it jammed, he switched to a .45 calibre weapon.
According to French firearm laws:
Firearms there are divided into different classes, numbered 1,4,5,6,7 and 8.
[…]
The fourth category comprises what are called defence firearms, and includes any revolver and pistol, centrefire or rimfire, of a non-military calibre, short rifles having a total length of less than 80cm or a barrel length of less than 45cm, semi-automatic rifles with more than three shots capacity, repeater rifles with a magazine capacity of more than ten shots, riot guns with over five-shot capacity, semi-automatic or repeating military lookalikes, and disguised arms such as pen guns.
[…]
Another important fact should be noted. In France, on a firearm certificate renewable each five years, the private citizen is allowed to have one fourth category handgun with fifty cartridges for home defence, pursuant to a police background check. This can be in any non-military calibre from .22 to .44 Magnum. The handgun cannot be moved outside the house. Sometimes a second handgun is allowed for a secondary house.
It seems the attacker is either entirely ignorant of the fact that it’s illegal for him to possess two handguns and any handgun that is of a military caliber. The 9mm is considered a military caliber under French laws and I’m guessing the .45 is as well (although I’m not entirely sure as France hasn’t issued any firearms in .45 that I’m aware of). So either the anti-gunners are full of shit and prohibitions against owning firearms doesn’t deter criminals or criminals are simply unaware of the fact that they’re breaking gun control laws. Either way gun control doesn’t work and trying to further it is foolhardy at best.