No they are not, niether are criminal. They do not buy them from legit means, either they buy them from some guy in the street or the steal them. It is not civilians with guns that is the problem it is the criminals that illegally get them that is.
In texas you can carry a gun. and yes it does saves lives.
for example.
DAMNED CIVILIANS WITH GUNS
This one unfolded in Tyler, Texas yesterday. David Hernandez Arroyo was in the middle of a bitter child support dispute. As his ex-wife arrived at the courthouse yesterday Arroyo was waiting with an AK-47. He killed her with is first shots and then aimed for and shot his son. At that point Mark Wilson happened on the scene. Mark Wilson is a civilian. He wasn't a law enforcement officer. Mark Wilson did, however, have a gun on him. Wilson started firing at Arroyo as Arroyo was trying to finish his son off. Wilson was killed in the exchange. Another civilian with a gun started firing at Arroyo, who ran to his pickup and fled. Arroyo was cornered by police a short time later and killed.
Arroyo's son is alive today. He's alive because a civilian with a gun intervened. This is just one of the instances yesterday where a civilian with a gun saved either his life or someone else's. You won't see most of these stories on the air. The Tyler story will probably make it to the news because it is too sensational to be ignored. Watch for the role of the civilian to be minimized.
Remember ... an armed society is a polite society.
http://boortz.com/nuze/200502/02252005.html
spent a hour to find this story. I knew it was there, and I found it. Just to prove you wrong.