The problem is, as with so many things, we don't pick one choice and really follow it. We could go the all-but-ban route that pretty much every other civilized democracy has followed with great success, or we could follow what the constitution appears to a layman to say, recognizing everyone's inalienable right to not only own a gun, but to carry it on their persons at all times. Either would probably work, but instead, we take the half-ass in-between option. Guns are easy to purchase, but illegal to physically possess in most circumstances, so when one is needed, only the criminals actually have them.
