Fertilizer and propane are better regulated than firearms! They have an occasional attack on schools in other countries. They are few and far between (unlike here where it is becoming a monthly occurrence). They are generally carried out by a lone person wielding a knife or club. They may kill a few to ten kids, but not 20+, and there is a way better chance they will be disarmed long before those numbers are reached. Every country has mental health problems. The difference is a mentally ill person can’t go out in the span of a week and buy two fast fire rifles, a handgun and thousands of rounds of ammunition and walk out of the store the same day.

@Barnie2years In California the waiting period to buy a gun is two weeks. And there's a background check.

The wacka doo's killing potential goes way up when you let him have a military style assault rifle.

@Flyingsaucesir PA, and I imagine Texas, have no waiting periods. And not just the rifle. I believe he had a dozen or so fully loaded magazines.

@Flyingsaucesir That's not what happened at OKC

@Flyingsaucesir, @Gwendolyn2018 I like the Swiss model. Very strict gun control, but gun ownership is widespread and even mandatory in some cases. Plus .... uhhh free mental health care .... gee who'da figured that would count?

The Swiss fire arm death rate is among the lowest. Again, focus is on the fools, not the tools.

@Barnie2years Free and effective mental health treatment is far more available in other countries as well. I'm not against regulation of the tools, but the focus should be more on the fools than the tools. WHO is allowed to have a tool rather than WHICH tool is available.

@Gwendolyn2018 9/11, Boston bombings, guns were not involved, demented wackos were.

@Gwendolyn2018 My posit is that gun control laws have been and will continue to be ineffective until the US stops it's "worship" of the rights of wackos to go where ever and do what ever they please.

Since you are so enamored with statistics, you might want to observe the fact that mass shootings overall constitute a very small fragment of gun deaths in the US. The vast majority of gun deaths are suicides, which are rarely committed with assault rifles.

Again, focus needs to be on the FOOLS not the TOOLS. Sure you can lock every one up in a safe room and only let anyone have access to plastic scissors. But I think that technological progress in a society REQUIRES access to dangerous tools of all types. If you restrict the TOOLS, you will also limit technological progress .... there is only so much you can do with plastic scissors.

The focus has to be on the FOOLS .... more free and ready access to mental health care. Quick identification treatment and if necessary confinement of anyone deemed a danger to themselves or others.

What's needed is a coherent approach to gun and mental health reforms.

@Ryo1 B.I.N.G.O.!!!!

@Normanbites The former would be relatively straightforward; stricter gun control laws, but the latter would be more complicated; measuring mental health.

@Ryo1 It's rarely as straight forward as it seems. For example, the well intentioned "gun free zones" here essentially turned into shooting galleries because the armed wackos knew there would be no opposition.

Also, with the advent of 3D printers, I'm not sure how you would prevent manufacture of a fire arm in the privacy of one's own home. Surveillance cameras in every house maybe? ( or NOT!!)

@Gwendolyn2018 Interestingly I feel the same about you.

@Normanbites 3D-printed firearms... good point.

My father and I were both members back in the 70’s. He dropped out first and myself shortly after. We realized that it had gone from a hunting/recreational organization to a rabid firearms mouthpiece, pushing the sale of more and more deadly weapons with NO accountability or reasonable regulations. It has only gotten much worse since that time..

@Barnie2years I was a member too once, long ago (mid to late 80s). No more.

@Barnie2years my ex did the same thing when he saw where they were heading.