I would ban television before I would ban guns. The culture of violence wolf gorges itself on the images put forth in television, movies and video games. The assault rifle sits in the corner and doesn't say a word while that one-eyed monster sits front and center of the livingroom and bombards the conscious and subconscious mind with images of all manner of violence as well as other cultural negatives. Get that doggie dish out of you life and watch that good wolf grow stronger.

I grew up in a small very conservative town in alaska and I did that exact thing about ten years ago. My gun went with me in my truck, not to show it off, everyone had one on the rack, but because that was the normal. Also had an axe, casting rod, and camping kit. I visit that town every few years and there is no change. I still see kids driving around with trucks jacked up the same way mine was and a loaded rack in the back window.
My guns' spot was on the rack, my 'plinking' gun was in the safe, a .22 :). My personal protection was also in the truck, a bat.

Many people feel justified to engage in gun control conversations when such events transpire. Many people are correct in their statements that more needs to be done to regulate guns. What bothers me is the systematic scapegoating that occurs when these events transpire. We all need to sit back and listen to the FACTS that are present in each of these acts of violence. The facts are that there is a mentally ill person behind a gun. That person had some sort of access to the gun. So why dont we talk about increased regulation on storage, rather than banning sales? Florida and many other states have strict storage laws on the books (as does Connecticut). Perhaps we need to discuss how to regulate storage of personal weapons. How do we surveille such since the storage is in private homes? This is a complicated enforcement issue. Thats a fact. Next we have to address the mental illness issue. Inevitably the investigations of these incidents reveal that "red flag" behaviors were present in these individuals. Those behaviors were not acted upon in ways that protected the person or potential victims. Thats a fact. Next we have to deal with the FACT that the subsequent public outrage NEVER results in changes to law and policies that increase protection and decrease risk. Why? Because of these very divisive conversations. No one negotiates. No one compromises. There is never middle ground reached. We argue until it is no longer politically advantageous to do so, then we drop the issue until the next tragedy. The moral of this story? Stop complaining and come to a negotiation table prepared to NEGOTIATE, not argue your point ad infinitem. We get it. Gun control isnt popular. Regulation isnt popular. Calling authorities with concerns about potential threats or alarming behaviors from a mentally ill person isnt popular. But guess what? Attending 27 funerals in one town because of our lack of proactive communication and actions is not popular either. There are guns in the wrong hands on our streets. There are people on the streets who shouldnt be. There are laws on the books that arent being enforced. Want another wake up call? Go to the obituary section of the Juneau Empire today and click on the Connecticut Memorials link. Read the obituaries of 20 children and 7 adults whose lives were senselessly exterminated. Consider how much they were desperately loved and desperately now missed and then tell me you wont negotiate !!!! think about how horrible it must feel as a mother to know that your baby, your flesh and blood, is laying on a cold, steel morgue table waiting to be cut open from stem to stern in an autopsy to determine cause of death when obvious gunshot wounds are present. Think of your child being shot multiple times in a first grade class, right next to a box of crayons and a sand table. There is a resolution to this matter if we all work together. We can make this stop.