jrm@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu:

   Firearms tend to fall into this low dollar/pound area.  It would not
   be economic to smuggle them in.  All production would have to be
   local.  There are not all that many people who have both the skill
   AND motivation to assemble worthwhile firearms from scratch.
   High-ranking crime figures could obtain imported Uzis and such, but
   the average person, and average thug, would be lucky to get a zip-gun
   - and would pay through the nose for it.

Good point you make.  However, a zip gun, by definition, is a crude,
homemade gun--certainly not something capable of sustained, accurate
fire, but it would be useful as a means of getting a normal gun.  Recall
the tiny, single-shot pistols made by the Allies during World War II for
use by partisans.  They were essentially well-made zipguns, incapable of
effective fire beyond a few feet.  But they were useful as a means of
killing German soldiers for their guns.

Also note that the crowd-pleasin' favorite, the Sten gun, was
specifically designed to require as little machine work as possible.
The point's been made here that one could make a Sten clone with steel
tubing, hand tools and a welder.

I still think that while the point is good, I think there's a difference
between marijuana and firearms, in that quality marijuana can be grown
locally; there's no need to import the stuff.  If guns are banned, I
think the demand for "real" guns will be sufficient to make smuggling
economically feasible, thus rendering a ban moot.  In any case, the
result would be the same--people who aren't criminals won't have
firearms, and "bad guys" will continue to have access to them, one way
or another.  And I don't see that as a necessary situation.