I actually agree completely. I think every American agrees that we would like to solve our problems - but those who turn it into a popularity contest in Washington spend more time painting people they don't like as enemies and less time actually thinking about solutions.

Thanks for the great educational resources and for engaging in this discussion with me. I would agree that the current background check process is quite detailed. I think it would be great if these checks could be expanded to include mental and psychological assessments.

Most of the recent shootings in the US and around the world were done by people with mental / psychological issues of some kind. On a more human note, I think a psychologist spending an hour with such a person should be able to tell if they are going to shoot responsibly or not.

I don't want this psychologist to be the judge and jury of whether someone should be able to get a gun or not, but I do feel that we can make a lot of progress by making purchasing a gun more like an interview rather than a transaction.

I am fairly new, yes, I've only shot a few times recreationally.

Thanks for your comments, I indeed did need to do more research to educate myself. Some of the other comments on this thread were very helpful. I wonder what you think about expanding the background checks. It seems like the best way to prevent bad actors from acquiring guns, but I'm worried it would infringe on the ordinary American's ability to get them.

Thanks very much for the thoughts. I've only shot a few times and certainly actually doing it changed how I felt about it. What do you mean by your last paragraph? Are you advocating for stricter punishments?

Thanks very much for the great resource. I didn't know any of this. With all this in mind, should the background checks be expanded? I would like to make it harder for school shootings to take place, but I worry that expanding the background checks would infringe on the ordinary citizen's ability to purchase guns.

This is just PR. I can't imagine why we would want fewer 911 dispatchers. If anything, we need more funding to really improve police departments. The issue is that for centuries the politicians have asked the police to protect them without actually dealing with the consequences themselves. Now they make another consequence-less choice for votes.

I don't think the average American is walking around with an "agenda". As for washington insiders, maybe, honestly I don't think any of them really know what they're doing.

Yep, hearing these kinds of comments just makes me discredit everything the person says. No one says racism isn't a thing, but we can't make whiteness the enemy if we want to improve everyone's lives.