" Do people REALLY think outlawing guns will stop psychopaths like this from getting them?"
Not all. But if you save one child's life its worth it.
First of all no one is arguing "outlaw guns". Not one lawmaker on either side of the aisle.. IMO a good compromise on an emotional issue is this: Allow anyone of age to own a gun used for hunting-meaning shotguns (i.e. ducks, pheasants, etc), rifles (deer, etc.). Don't "outlaw" assault rifles but they must be stored in a dispensary for recreational purposes. In the Navy a sailor on his leave can "check out" from the dispensary a non hunting rifle and use it for target practice-whatever. He or she then returns the gun at a designated time to be "checked' back in. Something similar would appear to satisfy those who say their AK 47 is used only for recreation. Of course this would impact the "sale" of assault guns such as AK47s which, interestingly, is what make the greatest profit ($$$) in all of gun sales. Just a coincidence?
With our ever increasing exponentially population we are going to have more and more and more mentally unstable people and dangerous people of all ages roaming around. You will never, ever, be able to control mental illness. Besides people simply don't want to have to spend the $$$ to do any major attempts at doing so. That's been proven over and over. So the next best thing to do is to limit such people access to weapons that are designed for one purpose-to kill humans.
Like I said-if you save one and only one life-its worth it. Let alone hundreds.
