How should they be made harder to get? Background checks? Waiting periods? All states have bg checks, and some have waiting periods. 2/3 of firearm deaths are suicide, most of the remainder are gang related. Those firearms used in a overwhelming majority of crime were stolen from a lawful gun owner, or a gun store that was broken into, all crimes on their own, where the mere fact they are illegal wasnt adequate to deter the criminals from committing them.