The Threat is Real, very real.

[Klem]

It isn't a gun issue. It is a criminal issue. The man had the intelligence and resources to have done it with other weapons. The body count could have easily been higher had he chosen other means.

True, but you cannot deny limiting civilian access to guns makes this sort of atrocity more difficult to commit. Also suggesting that if you do restrict guns then criminals will just find another way like a truck, and therefore it's pointless limiting guns in the first place is a non sequitur.

Put yourselves in the shoes of the politicians who for the most part do not share our affinity for firearms. Charged with preventing these things politicians look at all the possible solutions and go with the easiest and least expensive options. Lock up all those known to be abled bodied yet have psychological problems, and related autism. Limit the influx of migrants with known inconsistencies with your way of life. Deny those with a criminal record, especially if it includes violence. Limit the tools available to commit efficient murder like guns... What is the cost of doing each of these and to what extent do we restrict each one. All those with mental illness or only those with violent tendencies? Do we restrict truck ownership or is the cost too high to society? All criminals forever or only those with violent crimes, or with records in the past ten years? For democracies that valorise individual freedoms tackling this problem necessarily comes at a cost. And like you say, there will always be some nutter who slips through the cracks and that is the harsh reality of firearm access. You want access to full auto weapons, well someone eventually will misuse their gun on full-auto. Semi-auto, someone will eventually misuse their gun on semi-auto. Restrict both and someone eventually will smuggle one in (although you have to admit restricting these at least mitigates the likelihood and lessens the damage if it occurs, if not eliminating it entirely).

Sure, that guy could have used another means. They found a bag of ammonium nitrate at his house and also Tannerite. Unlikely that Tannerite can set off ANFO but with some effort he could access a detonator and booster from somewhere. Or just used a lot of Tannerite to propel shrapnel. He could have been in the Philippines with his Mrs when the thing went off and lived to fight another day (e.g. Margaret Thatcher, Brighton bombing in 1884. The IRA used a long timer). Heck, he could have rigged it to a mobile phone and rung it from overseas while watching the concert on Facebook. Instead he tied himself to the scene by using firearms and felt the need to commit suicide - A fruit cake that slipped through the very wide cracks.

I am a responsible firearm aficionado and I don't want these murders to happen just like everyone else. I also prefer the Gov't not restrict my lifestyle so I will argue that I am prepared to put up with the risk for access to firearms. I hope everyone else in this democracy is ready to bear the risk also, for everyone's freedom, regardless if they want to exercise it or not. It's just the painful cost of freedom in a democracy.