First and foremost: universal back ground checks. If indeed it's the irresponsible or irrational user of the gun that presents the problem, we should take all means necessary to prevent them from getting a gun in their hands. Universal back ground checks are popular, bipartisan, and a good first step.
Secondly, a ban on high capacity magazines. If indeed guns are used for self defense, ten rounds should be sufficient. Once you arm yourself with the means to discharge more than ten rounds, you have gone from a defensive weapon to an offensive weapon. No sportsman should Ned more than ten rounds to drop his game, no home owner needs more than ten round to deter a criminal. Who needs more than ten rounds? Gangbangers not known for thei marksmanship and lunatics wishing to kill as many innocent victims in a theater or school.
If you would care to propose a method by which ordinary gun owners have a way to do background checks, I am not opposed. It is, however, nonsense to think that will prevent gun violence.
from:
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) - Firearm Use by Offenders
"A 1997 U.S. Justice Department survey of 14,285 state prison inmates found that among those inmates who carried a firearm during the offense for which they were sent to jail, 0.7% obtained the firearm at a gun show, 1% at a flea market, 3.8% from a pawn shop, 8.3% from a retail store,
39.2% through an illegal/street source, and 39.6% through family or friends."
from:
FBI ? 2008 Operations Report
"In the 10-year period from November 30, 1998 to December 31, 2008, about 96 million background checks for gun purchases were processed through the federal background check system. Of these, approximately 681,000 or
about 1% were denied."
from:
Evaluation and Inspection Report
"According to federal agents interviewed in a 2004 U.S. Justice Department investigation, the "vast majority" of denials under the federal background check system are issued to people who are not "a danger to the public because the prohibiting factors are often minor or based on incidents that occurred many years in the past." As examples of such, agents stated that denials have been issued due to a 1941 felony conviction for stealing a pig and a 1969 felony conviction for stealing hubcaps."
So it is pretty clear that additional background checks would not do much to reduce gun related crime. It is even clearer that the holy grail of issues, the Gun Show myth, is not the huge danger that some claim it to be.
As for high capacity magazines, I find it amusing that you think you know how many rounds it takes to defend a home or someone's family. The truth is, the high capacity magazine is not particularly dangerous. The only semi-auto I have that is suitable for self-defense has a magazine capacity of 8 rounds (7 in the standard mag). I can reload in less than 2 seconds. So unless you are in a position to grab and disarm me in less than 2 seconds, it makes no difference whatsoever. You pretty much have to be within arms reach of the shooter and be counting the number of shots fired (and know how many the particular gun holds). I would be willing to bet that if you were crouched down 15 feet away from me, I could reload a double action revolver before you could reach me. That someone cannot reload a semi-auto faster is due to their own lack of ability, much like the fact that they fired 19 rounds and hit 6 people.