Thirty-two people die every day due to firearms. That’s equal to three 9/11 events every year. The tragedy of the past week has brought the discussion on this to the forefront. In the past, when tragedies happen, the gun lobby steps out, trots out some celebrity to state that, in the wake of such misfortune, it is not time to discuss gun regulations.  But this time, they’ve run for cover and have lost allies in congress. The sheer scope of the tragedy has given them pause and it’s time for a real examination of gun regulations and for us to come up with some common sense solutions.

There are three very simple steps that could be taken in the new congress which can go a long way to addressing the issue, all of which have strong support among gun owners.

Restore the Assault Weapons Ban – The Assault Weapons Ban was a regulation on gun manufacturers, not owners, which prevented the manufacture for consumer use a category of weapons classified as “Assault Weapons” in US Code. It was a sensible way to address the issue of weapons not designed for recreational use. Its prohibition on weapons able to mount a grenade launcher is simple, common sense.