Our government is targeting legal gun owners, what about all the illegal guns killing children, it's never addressed. Chicago had 502 murders in 2012 by guns, anyone think those were legal.........

Every gun was once a legal gun owned by a legal owner. As novelist George Pellecanos says the proliferation of guns in this country is nothing less than he genocide of black youth.

Certain folks like to make this conversation be an attack upon guns, because it makes it much easier to set up sides.  But the fact is this is more a discussion about the place of guns in American society.  If one looks at the effort the emotions put into this debate about which guns and what kind of guns one has to wonder what goes on in the American pysche. After all on one level no one is even thinking about your standard game rifle or your standard pistol.  What they are talking about are very specific weapons meant for a very specific purpose.  And while I understand it I have to wonder at the emotional attachment some feel towards a certain segment of non-animate objects. 

Do some folks realize that a 50 cal sniper rifle, armor piercing, heck concrete piercing is available in 49 out of 50 states.  Yet we seem unable to even question that.  Years ago I used to give talks on the Vietnam war and I was always amazed at the desire by some to hear not about its meaning but about imy own combat experiences.  There seems to be a strain of John Wayne through this nations male culture regardless of race that says as a man, "I can kill you."  A strain that is aparent in the minority community and in the white community.  Now it is true I can kill you but I find it to be something I dislike about myself.  Yet in America it seems to me that the ability to "protect" myself, to commit violence is something that many are proud of or wish to have as part of who they are.  I think that is the core of this gun discussion, nothing more than the ability to say I can

David Kennedy's book Don't Shoot is the amazing story of the reduction in homicide in Boston during the crack epidemic known as the Boston miracle which includes a story of a gang voluntarily disarming, how and why included. An empowered, organized cooperating community can reduce violence. It’s very reassuring to know, even if it's discouraging knowing that communities don't pull together easily. 

Also reassuring is Stephen Pinker's book Better Angles of our Nature, a story about why violence is declining. Pinker, a psychologist spends time ruminating on the psychology of violence, our inner demons and our better nature's and makes a strong case that our better natures can and do win. I think he would argue that this push for gun control is an example of our better natures once again pushing forward. Jeffrey Brown too is part of our better nature. In any event we'll soon know how far forward this particular push goes. 

Kennedy link 

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2011/11/david_m_kennedy_s_don_t_shoot_reviewed_if_the_police_don_t_protect_citizens_from_criminals_who_should_.html

Pinker link

http://edge.org/conversation/mc2011-history-violence-pinker

As I look at the problem and see my inner city brother with his Church and his people, steeped in violence everyday; he is not talking to the gun owner in the outskirts of Nevada, Arizona, Montana where packing that gun is a normal as putting on your underwear. He is not talking to the folks along the Mexican border where the bodies are dropped on a weekly basses and the border bandits are a threat to your very household... He seems unaware of the towns in the Country that have no law readily available.. No, he lives in the inner city, where there in no air to breath but violence, while other gun owner's breath fresh air with their gun strapped to them... These folks are as different in their views as night and day...

Everyone wants to jump on the Newtown bandwagon.  One should not lump mass school shootings and gang shootings into the same category.  Nor should one attempt to solve them with a "one size fits all" solution.  These are very different problems.

Positive steps could be taken very quickly to reduce the possibility of another school mass shooting to almost zero.  School shootings are extremely rare events to begin with (I know, I know, but as events go, they are rare, rare is when you could sit outiside of 50000 schools the rest of your life and never have one occur).  But since they are so horrific, they should not be ignored.  Positive steps are not passing a slew of laws that depend on psychos turning in large capacity weapons or magazines, or banned weapons.  Once real positive steps were taken, like security, then intelligent people could work on real solutions in regards to weapons.

Just like passing a bunch of laws will do absolutely nothing to stop gang violence (just ask chicago residents, they have not been able to own a gun for years, until just last year), there has to be a different solution.  Everyone knows what that solution is, policing.  But we also know that the Federal government hasn't helped one bit with the border situation.  The gangs are fighting over drug turf, money.  These are cartel related gangs, they exist in every major city.  Anyone thinks that passing gun laws is going to effect them has more than one screw loose.

Then we have a third problem, people who are killed by guns accidentally.  That is a whole different issue.  In my opinion it is actually the most difficult one to address.  Do we prevent someone from owning a gun because another person is foolish and injures himself or another by misuse?  We do not do that with automobiles, and yes, the auto argument is a valid one.  It is a difficult question.

More policing? Really? And criticism of the "no snitching" culture is spoken by someone who obviously does not have to live in fear of his or her life at the hands of some murderer's associates. As usual, everyone, including the columnist, although one of you aluded to it, is missing the 700-pound gorilla, prohibition. Legalize and decriminalize common street drugs and 80 percent of the violence goes away. When you can make tens of thousands dollars day, and guns are as commmon as crack, and only 43 percent of homicides get solved (BPD clearace rate for 2012), what the hell do you think is going to happen?

"History"  I agree the sale of 50 cals are rare.  The point is we can't even talk about those without a huge outcry.  There is always an excuse for any restriction.  You can't even talk about we will restrict 50 cals by requiring the buyer to be a "whatever' we wish to limit the regulation to.  Competitve marksman etc.  Same is true with most weapons that the public is concerned with, we can without impacting the second amend. make regulations that enable us to minimize there spread throughout society.  It doesn't contradict the second to do those types of regulations.  It may inconvenience a few folks but good grief we can't all be Donald Trump who thinks the world needs to bow at our feet and we just want something and get it.  Sometimes in a civilized society we get inconvenienced like the DMV, arrgh. 

"Kitch"  I'm not a big fan of religion either but come on they can add something to the discussion, can help their communities, not everyone is psychologically built to be you or to be me, some folks need religion, some are hardwired for it.  Rational people recognize that and use it, if the preachers can help, there's nothing wrong with that.

"Kitch" I'm not supporting the preachers but just as it isn't their job to convert me it is not my job to convert them.  If they can add the slightest bit of solution to the problem then I say let them have at it.

"History"  Do you notice how even the slightest suggestion regarding regulation whether it be 50's or anything simply leads to another line of questioning.  "You know "liberals" and stop and search. I don't care about "liberal" or "conservative".  It is not an argument about political philosophy although some would like it to be, it is an argument about reasonable solutions.  To say no solution is possible is to there is no solution to any problem. 

Kitch:  You seem to have taken a stance that the inner city preachers are part of the problem, rather than being part of the solution.  You also seem to think that the black community at large is at fault via their "no snitch" culture, etc.

The vast majority of the black community is not out on the street doing drive by shootings in support of the drug wars, or for any other reason.  Most of them live in a state of constant fear and wish it would just go away.  However, living in those areas, snitching means putting your life at even more risk.

Preachers. We do have ammendments dealing with freedom of religion and speech.  Religion seems to comfort many people, especially people who are enduring difficult situations, like many face in poor neighborhoods plaqued by violence.  If these preachers can ease their suffering, more power to them.  As for their commentary about what should be done?  Well, being a preacher brings as much "expertise" to the gun discussion as any of us have.  Presiding over funerals does not make someone an expert on the problem, just a witness to it.

"Kitch"  "No snitching" is not a black cultural event.  It is and has been a part of inner city culture since time immemorial.  It is a distinct part of any sub-culture whether it is white or black or pink or paisley. 

"lesval"  I could be wrong but I don't think "history" will celbrate gun appreciation day.  He might but even if he did catagoizing each other into warring camps is why we seem unable and incapable of having rational discussions regarding gun laws. Hopefully, this time around those of us who are gun owners but not overly worried about uncle Sam taking them away will speak up and seek ways to find some rational solutions to what is a real problem.   However even if "history" were a rabid gun owner a hostile environment wouldn't make him open to discussion. 

@Lesval:

"Aw Hist, thought you were smart enough to understand satire, not just continue to play the NRA pseudo-intellectual disinformation king of patronizing long-winded propaganda red herring farmer putdowns again"

Darn, looks like I wasted my tax dollars again!  Try as I might, I could not read that sentence out loud in one breath.  How in the world can a person go from the NRA to a red herring via propaganda in one sentence?  It boggles the mind!

Strange, I have not seen one honest rebuttal written here by you to any of my so called "disinformation", just personal attacks, and lots of labeling on your part.

As I have said before: Do you have anything of substance to add to the discussion?  Give it your best shot, excercise those brain cells.  Quit regurgitating the drivel you read on FaceBook that sounded so good to you.  This is a nationally read newspaper, you have to rise to the challenge.

Derrick,

If the President really understood and gave a damn about the racial disparities of shootings, he'd stop all the drone bombing now that we've killed over 100,000 civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan, many, many of them children or parents of young children.

Until then, he is no better.  The US government sets a heck of an example by outspending the next 14 countries combined on "defense."  We also channel millions of dollars every year into paramilitary gear, guns, clothing, and other equipment for police departments around the country.  We recruit young people in their schools for the DoD with videos and posters highlighting the most powerful killing machinery the world has ever known.  The Newtown shooter was wearing military clothing, but did we ever stop to wonder just who he was imitating?  I bet it wasn't some Idaho militia group, but rather our own US Armed Forces.

And Obama is as responsible for that as were the presidents and congresses before him.