Will this be the breaking point for gun control?

[Virginiá]

Democrats lack the political will and courage to take on this issue.

Gun control is alot like the Civil Rights issue....it's basically another gigantic problem the crusty Boomers will punt to future generations to deal with in the way Civil Rights was ignored for nearly a century and always deferred to some future generation to fix.

They don't lack the courage. They lack the power to do something about it. That was just as true in 2012 as it is now. So long as Republicans have a say in any part of the process, they will say no. No doubt a lot of Democratic Congresspeople recognize the futility of this so long as Republicans control a branch/chamber of the federal govt/Congress.

[Virginiá]

No, like with Sandy Hook it becomes clear that no actual proposed policies are going to do anything to prevent school shootings and the typical "outraged" people find a new shiny object after using dead children as props

Oh come on. Let's be real here, Republicans don't care if gun control would actually help, hence things like the CDC research ban. Mass shootings like this are already priced into conservatives' views on the 2nd amendment. In that sense, it's like the CSA scheduling of marijuana - Schedule I, so proper research on it was very difficult if not impossible, as was intended. No one cared if it was actually harmful enough to be banned. They just wanted it banned, period. Likewise, Republicans don't care if some form of gun control would work. They don't want to restrict guns in any meaningful way, period.

[Virginiá]

So long as Republicans have a say? That’s called democracy.

Why do you take umbrage? Your party just blew up our deficit with a partisan tax bill and also sought to take health insurance away from tens of millions of people with a party line vote.

Just because Republicans are rabidly anti-gun control doesn't mean America as a whole is. There is public support for some things you guys refuse to consider. By blocking this, you only help ensure that when you guys eventually find yourselves sufficiently in the minority in Congress, a partisan gun control bill will be passed over your objections. This is what happens when you stonewall certain policies that have a lot of support. And for the record, it's not like gun control is the only thing Congressional Republicans refuse to consider. Pretty much anything Obama wanted to do was also off the table.

[Virginiá]

The problem isn't guns, it's people. Don't get me wrong, I believe in common sense gun laws, background checks and I don't think you should be able to just go into a store and walk right out with a gun, unless you are already in the system. But even if we banned all the guns in the world, people will still kill people with whatever they can get a hold of.

The role guns play is in the death toll, and in some situations, perhaps the thought of causing many deaths is the final nudge that pushes a particular shooter to go on a shooting spree. I think you are right that people are the root problem, but I think guns play an obviously big role here. I do think the infatuation with assault weapon bans is a bit misguided though. It's not going to stop mass shootings. You don't need an AR-15 to murder dozens of people, and previous school shootings (Columbine, VA Tech) have proven that.

Extensive background checks that take into account mental conditions, FBI tips, social media checks, and ending the gunshow loophole would help a lot. Smart guns that require a person's fingerprints/dna to be encoded as an access lock for the gun would also help, although that technology needs to be developed and refined.