Really, it's all about making sure these firearms don't fall into the hands of those not in the right mindsets. It's also about addressing things like mental health issues. How can we do so if the culture is bred on one of glorified violence and pride in gun ownership?
The problem is that we don't actually embrace it. It's the white elephant in the room.
In a culture such as ours, where the number of firearms is estimated to at least equal, and in some estimates double the number of people in this country; we should embrace them the same way we embrace driving (and the number of cars doesn't even approach the number firearms). Firearm safety and use should be like learning to type, learning to drive, or learning to ride a bike in this nation.
I do not completely support the ban of firearms; I am merely advocating that there needs to be some form of regulation/control; lest it descend into chaos.
What are you talking about? The list of regulations and controls on firearms is a mile long!
Even if you were to remove every single one of them - including all background checks - there wouldn't be any appreciable difference in our society. Why?
The "chaotic weapons of destruction" are expensive. This limits the people who can practically purchase and field such weapons. Even if we were allowed to purchase anti-tank missiles... how many people do you think would be purchasing them? Few. Even fewer would be firing them with any kind of frequency, and even fewer would be utilizing them in a criminal capacity.
"But they could blow up an armored car or rob a bank or kill a bunch of people!" ... Worked well for the boston bomber, didn't it? If you've got the kind of lifestyle where you can afford to buy expensive toys to provoke the ire of the population... how long do you think that's going to be allowed to last?
Want to buy a fully militarized M-1 Abrams and roll down the freeway? National Guard Apache Gunship.
The fact of the matter is that someone with that kind of money can buy a wide variety of available technology and hire machinists and other tradesmen to make it identical to the military equivalent.
Hell - I can build you a radar guided hellfire missile out of a garage machine and electronics shop. The exact explosives used in the warhead and the more advanced rocket propellants will be the most difficult part for me (compared to my other skill sets - my chemistry is a little weak and where my confidence wavers a bit).
Point is - those with the money, and those of us with the skills, are on a relatively short list. If you started asking around this town for "who could possibly build something like that?" - my name would come up before too long. More people know of me than the people I actually know.... as reclusive as I am.
Those with the money are even easier to find.
The groups most capable of utilizing the weapons you fear are the groups least likely to get involved in activity that will damage them or put an end to the life they already enjoy.
