The idea that pistols couldn't have caused this much damage is probably not true. Rather than spend $1500 or something on an AR-15, if he'd just had 4 Glocks, that could be 80+ rounds without any reloading. In a crowded movie theater where you can hardly miss, that could have been just as bad.
As much as the discussion in here focuses on semi-auto rifles, that's not where bans would start anyway. Pistols have generally been the first things banned, since its a lot harder to stash a rifle in your jacket or pocket, and hunters don't generally use handguns.
Also, the whole idea of a ban on guns in the US is just fantasy anyway. If all guns magically disappeared from the US, would the murder rate go down? Absolutely. Is there a way to make millions and millions of guns disappear? Of course not. Trying to disarm this country would almost certainly result in a civil war. I'm a big believer in gun control myself, but I would always argue that the founding fathers intended for an armed populace to prevent monarchy from breaking out in the US.
So I guess I feel like there's really no reason to even debate a gun ban, because it has basically zero chance of happening. The key is identifying people with mental illness, and preventing them from acquiring firearms. That's obviously easier with some folks than others...
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