For all the gun murders that go unpublicized, this problem is larger than the events of one day.
An end to gun violence isn't going to happen, there's no band-aid or quick fix and thinking there's an overnight solution to this problem is making a fool of us all. While we're throwing the logistics of bomb making off the wall, people are getting killed by guns, not bombs.
Had Adam Lanza wanted to make a bomb, he'd have made a bomb.
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the Columbine shooters, made pipe bombs. Their bombs injured one student with burns to the abdomen.
Bomb making isn't a constitutional right and illegal firearms sales aren't backed by a 2nd Amendment.
Again, this is a situation where the guns were not obtained illegally. Madster, you're entertaining unlikely scenarios every time you mention bombs, and the numbers prove it.
By most counts, 2977 lives were lost to the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, excluding the 19 hijackers.
Since 9/11, there have been an estimated 334168 gun deaths in America. That's 100 times the 9/11 toll. [as of Jul 21, 2012]
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Those numbers are astounding on their own.
The fireworks analog is fitting because, yes, there are still fireworks related injuries and deaths in states where fireworks sales are banned but they're significantly lower than states where they're not banned. There's no overnight fix (when is there ever?), but you can reduce the murder rate by simply beginning with a ban on assault rifles.
I'm with you on providing better help for those who need it, but you're headed down a slippery slope with this talk of mental health and Sourdeez' mention of psychotropics, because that's the kind of talk used in the defense of a killer. Has all the credibility of the woman who drowns her children, blames bipolar disorder, and gets off free. That's a legal precedent that's already been set, and it's happened time and time again ever since. Copy cat killers.
There are policies and governing agencies already in place to stop gun trafficking, bomb making, but gun ownership is a constitutional right. We shouldn't point to conjecture and the 'what-if' as fact when the numbers have continually proven them wrong.