How many arrests and jailings are there made of gun violence crimes when it results in a cheap little hipoint handgun on the floor of a prison cell rather than the person who fired it? Never.

The lie is embraced when the government can use it to further their own criminal interests - like robbing a business they dont like of cash and charging that cash with a crime in 'civil forfeiture' actions. All the while the seizure causes the business to go bust and hence they cant afford to operate any more, much less afford a legal defense.