How Do They Still Exist If They're "Banned"?

"Every right, including freedom of speech, is subject to some limitations. The legal and public policy arguments for allowing broad government regulation of firearms are compelling. District law bans private ownership of handguns and requires long guns to be kept in the home disassembled or stored with a trigger lock. This approach reflects the grim realities of an urban setting where handguns account for a disproportionate number of homicides and are used in a great majority of robberies and rapes. "
--Washington Post Editorial

Please forgive me for being obtuse, but how is it possible that DC's reality is "grim" with murders, rapes, and robberies if they've "banned" the private ownership of handguns? Surely you aren't suggesting that the people willing to break the laws against those heinous crimes also have the nerve to possess handguns illegally?!? Unthinkable!

So gosh, if only the people who play be the rules could have some powerful way of protecting themselves from this "grim reality."

I dunno, that's probably just crazy talk..