The reason why is because in Germany, France, Canada, Britain and Japan, handguns are essentially banned from the general public. Because its supposedly a constitutional right for US citizens to be able to own guns we live in a very unsafe society.
Guns are known to kill more people between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four than all other natural causes combined. According to the FBI, if guns were not so readily available, and further restrictions were made on their ownership, many of these fatalities could be avoided.
Studies show that 1 percent of gun stores sell the weapons traced to 57 percent of gun crimes. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the dealer that armed the DC area sniper is among this small group of problem gun dealers that "supply the suppliers" who funnel guns to the nation's criminals.
On February 28, of 1994 the Brady Bill was implemented. This law established a national 5 business day waiting period on handgun purchases through licensed dealers. It also required local authorities to conduct background checks on handgun purchasers. In July of 1997, the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for the federal government to require states to perform Brady Bill background checks. At that point, 27 states had laws requiring similar background checks and 23 states did not. In December of 1998, an amendment to the Brady Bill replaced the five business day waiting period with a national instant felon ID system. Dealers were required to conduct this background check on all gun purchases, not just handgun purchases. This amendment was added to the Brady Bill before the law was voted out of Congress. In 1997, the number of violent crimes committed with firearms had fallen 25% since 1994, while the overall number of violent crimes had declined 14%. Clearly, it is evident that stricter gun control decreased the amount of crime making it that much safer of a society for us to live in.