Years ago, arguing with Libertarians, libertarians, and the occasional gun nut, I came up with a few simple ideas that at least slows 'em down.
Please note that if any of y'all in the above list read this, you should remember that, unlike the Religious Reich, in this republic, you have to deal, and represent, as much of everyone as possible...and if you refuse to make any compromise with those who don't feel like raising their kids to be cannon fodder, then go somewhere else, 'cause that ain't America that you want to live in.
For those on the pro-gun-control side, you, too, have to deal with folks who do include firearms in their culture - there are, indeed, people who hunt to put meat on their table (yes, there are folks who do this), and there are folks who farm, and have to deal with lots and lots of deer...and Man has killed off all the predators, save for himself. If you eat meat...does buying it in the store, having been killed in a factory, and prepackaged, make you "morally better" than folks who hunt?
The primary idea: a federal firearm owner's license. Like a driver's license, it doesn't say that you own one, just that you can own and, ummm, "operate" one. You don't get to buy a gun, without showing a current, valid, license. Getting the license gives the time to do the background check, and doesn't need to be done every time someone wants to buy a gun.
Furthermore, you also have to have firearm-owner's insurance, just like car-owner's insurance. If someone gets shot, their medical bills should be covered. I mean, this is, unless y'all like your tax dollars to pay for an uninsured victim's injuries.
The kicker: it needs to be renewed, every year, if someone intends to buy another gun.
(Gee, maybe we should require a driver's exam every year - it might get half the drivers, uh, er, bad drivers off the road...and probably 75% of the drivers of SUV's (or, as a friend of mine refers to 'em, Urban Assault Vehicles)).
The twist: to renew, you need to take a gun safety course. This, of course, means that they have to take one every year. It could be a nominal fee...and what'll stop some of the screaming, and split the NRA down the middle - these "nominal fee" courses have to be given by *someone*, who will have to be licensed.
Hey, you guys over at the NRA - how'd you like to volunteer a bunch of your people to get licensed to give these courses? Y'all always talk about how it ain't you folks, but those irresponsible people who don't know how to handle guns - so, you want to take these folks in hand?
Now, I'm not suggesting that they give all the courses, but rather that they be set up like traffic safety schools. Still, offering the NRA a place at the table might give a boost to the rational members, and maybe, just maybe, they'll do something about the wackos who claim they need Teflon bullets to hunt Bambi.
Oh, and for those that have gotten this far, and believe Everyone Should Carry, and An Armed Society is a Polite Society...I used to respond with, "Like Lebanon?", and then, "Like the former Yugoslavia?", but I've realized there's a bigger question here: do y'all have such a personal problem that the only way that you think anyone will respect you is if you carry a gun?
As a followup to that question, btw, I grew up in North Philly, which, by the time I was 10, was a Black ghetto (my parents being too poor, too lazy, and politically po'd to move, when the realtors block-busted with a vengence), lived in cities most of my life, including in fairly rough areas...and I've never felt the need to carry, nor have I been attacked. Seems to me, it's the cowards who ran away to the 'burbs, and are horrified and surprised that the crime followed them, who want the guns....