Four-pronged approach

We must recognize and accept that there's no 100% solution to mass shooters. With 400 million guns in the U.S., we can't "put the genie back in the bottle." Ill-informed proposals such as banning or confiscating guns are proven not to work. Ban "assault rifles" and they'll simply use the next best gun. While impossible to completely stop a highly determined individual from conducting one, the following four-pronged approach will significantly reduce the likelihood of a mass shooting as well as reduce the carnage should one occur. With two prongs supported by progressives and two supported by conservatives; all four prongs are required for it to actually work.

1) Combine all security databases (no-fly list, terrorist watch list, felon lists, mental health roles, etc.) into a single national background check database; with expedited due process for challenges to mistaken inclusion in the database. The technology readily exists today.

2) All gun purchases and transfers require a check against the above database; no exceptions; including gun-shows and in-family transfers. This provides the best solution for ensuring those who shouldn't get guns don't.

3) The entire United States is a "shall allow" concealed carry zone, with mandatory thorough training to get a CC permit. This leaves nowhere in the country that a law-abiding, background-checked, trained citizen cannot personally carry a gun for defense of self and others.

4) Eliminate all "gun-free-zones" with an exception for schools where only teachers and employees are allowed to defend themselves and their students. Without fail, mass shooters exclusively choose gun-free-zones because no guns are there to oppose them. Going forward, trained law-abiding citizens would represent an omnipresent deterrent to such cowardly acts.

If applied in total, the above represents the only comprehensive solution which effectively minimizes the possibility of mass shootings while preserving our constitutional rights.

John Kauck

Grayslake