We have a conundrum with the 18-year old. He/She is classified as an "adult". However it's known that a human's brain doesn't really completely mature until about age 25. That's a seven +/- year gap. At 18, the person can legally enter into contracts, serve in the military, vote, etc. In the military, the person is trained in the use of small arms, pistols, rifles, machine guns, but all under strict supervision, but far more deadly than an AR-15 (primarily because of fully automatic capabilities. How many 18-year olds would you let drive a new Corvette, Mustang, etc. Not many, I'd wager.

Under Federal law, one must be 21 to buy a handgun, but able to possess one at age 18.

I know that most Americans don't sleep with a gun under their pillow. In fact, in all my interactions with Americans I only knew one non-uniformed person who regularly packed a sidearm, and he was an air marshal.

I have a friend in the US who once got very angry at a driver who cursed at her because she was having trouble opening the garage gate at her apartment to let me drive my car in. I could not believe the string of curse words that she shouted out. I later heard that she applied for a gun licence. This is the kind of person I would worry about.

I have already said I fully support gun ownership for sport (hunting, target shooting), and I have no problem with a person grabbing a firearm that is legally in the house already to protect his/her property during a home intrusion. But I just don't buy into the need to pack a weapon whenever leaving the house... even though people believe that they have the right to do so; that is the part that I disagree with.

Someone "followed the law" and sold body armor and serious weapons to an 18 year old. I believe that a society that allows this, and even advocates this is irresponsible and unaccountable.

Yes, my definitions would need a great deal of work. I am thinking that one of the root issues at hand is how much power to place into the hands of an 18 year old. What is the magic thing about 18, versus 16, or 21, or 30, or 5?

Yes, the NRA absolutely has made things clear about our right to bear arms. But the meaning of right to bear arms is very debatable.

I don't have the solution(s) either, but I do have a few thoughts about the problem.

First, if ALL firearms were banned there would be no shooting deaths. Clearly, this is not possible or even practical; it is simply a statement of fact. But it does speak to the truth that surely fewer firearms would reduce the number of shooting deaths. And yes, criminals would still have guns; but as someone stated already, most of the mass shooting perpetrators were not career criminals before the heinous act. It is the far-too-easy access to these weapons that enables people who fantasize about being mass killers to actually become one.

Second, the argument that "guns don't kill; people do" is a deflection from the problem. Given the choice of a baseball bat, knife or automatic rifle, the nutcase who decides to go on a mass killing spree will surely take the automatic rifle for its firing rate and standoff advantage. While smarter and more effective gun laws might reduce the overall death rates from all shootings, the issue being debated right now is mass shootings, not onesies. Also, the argument that "there are already lots of gun laws that are not being enforced, so more laws will not help" is yet another red herring, because it is the automatic weapons and high capacity magazines that need the focus right now.

Third, the 2nd Amendment has been misinterpreted and twisted by deviant lawyers and gun lobbyists to the point that it looks like an intestine; and we know what comes out of that in the end. I bet the Founding Fathers are turning over in their graves when they see what has become of their "right to bear arms" words. It is high time this Amendment gets an overhaul that addresses the technology available today, and not muskets and powder pouches.

Finally, if you look at the gun laws and gun deaths of other countries you will see that the US is "way out in left field" (left not being a political term). Correlation is not causation, but you would have to be really stupid to not see the pattern.:
- most of the American population leaves home... keys, wallet, gun, ammo... check.
- most of the world population leaves home... keys, wallet... that's all I need.