I'll probably catch some crap for this, but hey, freedom of speech, right?
I would like to believe that as a society, we can come together to put in place improved laws/protocols to increase our safety when it comes to firearms. I am a lifelong hunter and gun owner, but I am also a father, brother, husband and friend. I have too many important people in my life to not critically look at where we are at as a society when it comes to guns. Especially when seen on a global stage, where we are dead last in terms of gun safety/firearm killings in developed countries. This isn't Rwanda or the Sudan, folks. Dead last = USA.
Also, we really need to drop the "cold dead hands" NRA quote; too quickly, the discussion around improved gun control laws immediately spirals into "THEY" want "all" of my guns. Not what I am advocating, and once we get past the boogieman factor, it won't happen.
If we take an objective look at the situation, and the cold hard facts and statistics, why wouldn't we want to take a page out of another country's playbook? Can we modify them to suit our needs? This is not an all or nothing situation. Australia has not had a mass shooting since 1996. Norway has tough laws, but law-abiding citizens, etc. can obtain firearms. Same with Finland, etc. Why? Would it work here? Like I mentioned, it is worth examining.
If anyone on the forum experienced what Dromsky did, or had a loved one die in front of them during the Las Vegas shootings, I feel the inherent need to protect our loved ones, ourselves and our society, would overshadow the knee jerk reaction to owning guns as being more important.
Look at the safeguards and laws we have in place around air safety, food, medicine, professional services, etc. Sure, nothing is perfect, and never will be. That is not the point. But this trend of throwing out prayers and good thoughts, and then letting the tragedy pass until the next one -- and we all know there will be another one, sadly -- throw it all back in the spotlight to be debated, and likely not solved.
I think we can do better, or at least try a helluva lot harder.