I don't have a lot of time this morning, but I heard a right talking point about Columbine this morning on the CBS morning show an I'd like to take a second to stick a pin in it.
The assault rifle apologist talking to Charlie Rose said that Columbine occourred during while the Assault Rifle Ban was in effect. That struck me as wrong, but I couldn't figure why and so I went about my business for a couple of minutes, until it struck me: the guns used in Columbine were obtained illegally. The were bought by friends of the shooters at gun shows.
In the months prior to the attacks, Harris and Klebold acquired two 9 mm firearms and two 12-gauge shotguns. A rifle and the two shotguns were bought by a friend named Robyn Anderson at the Tanner Gun Show in December 1998.[18] Through a friend, Robert Duran, Harris and Klebold later bought a handgun from an individual named Mark Manes for $500.
So if anyone tells you that an assault rifle ban won't work and they use Columbine as an example, tell tham that Columbine doesn't show that we don't need an assault rifle ban, it shows that we need to close the gun show loophole, and to use our now-much-more-powerful internet technology to run background checks even in small gun-sale venues.