ISIS is only half the problem

and it needs to get fixed, but I'm worried we will not address the gun violence issue. Remember, Sandy Hook was kind of (apparently not enough, though) of a tipping point for most people sick beyond death (poor phrasing) about gun violence, which was by a white kid, which followed our outrage about Columbine (again, white kids), which was a tipping point in its own self - triggering (again, poor phrasing) a discussion on gun violence, on top of years of individual gun violence in cities (such-and-such city is the murder capital of the country).

If you have lots of guns, but everyone's a responsible owner, there's no problem. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

Likewise, if you are a terrorist, but are trying to create an event in a country where it's damn near impossible to get a gun, terrorism is hugely reduced just because it's difficult.

However, if you want to create an event in a country where people get Bushmasters for Christmas, it's just all too easy. You don't have to smuggle guns across the border. Getting one is far easier than getting a driver's license. At least you get trained and tested for driver's licenses because you have to coexist on the road with your fellow citizens. And that's for using a piece of equipment which can cause death but has a very different primary purpose. The primary purpose for a gun - particularly high-capacity semi's - is to kill, and we not only don't put safety barriers in the way, we actively try to remove them.

So, yeah, if we can get rid of ISIS we should, but the underlying problem will still exist. Kids like Adam Lanza (Sandy Hook), with no religious "red flags" or anything, that want to make a statement by killing people can do so so easily.

Availability of weaponry determines how much damage you can do. Individuals aren't allowed to own nuclear bombs. If all I have is a knife, or a limited capacity gun, there's only so much I can do. If I want to make a bomb, I'd have to figure out how, and also get materials. But if I can just waltz into show or a shop and come out with high-capacity things like what's being used nowadays, that just makes it soooo much easier for me to create havoc. Why are we making it easy? Yes, ISIS is part of the problem, but we've got a fundamental problem that goes beyond ISIS.