You ask for a national “conversation” about gun control? What are you smoking? There is no one to have this conversation with. I guess it might feel good to have your national conversation about gun with yourself while you’re jerking yourself off, but, get real.
The time for talking is very long past. The time to get as many of those 100s of millions of handguns out of the publics hands is now. Leverage a sad, sad event like Newtown and unleash the military. They might hate the job, but they will obey. You might have to replace some idiot officers, but that will only improve the military. The NCOs and EMs will do the job. It’ll be messy. And dangerous, but our military can do it.
They might as well get the assault weapons at the same time. Long guns are another story. Where would the Constitutionally protected and mandated militias be with long guns? And hunting, except for the jackass trophy hunters, is honorable and useful.
However, there is no reason for ordinary citizens to own handguns. Make them illegal by executive order and have the military get the guns. NOW. Stop blithering talking, or even more stupidly, talking about talking.