Mick, to me, saying that banning a certain class of weapon doesn't address the problem of individuals who use firearms to solve their problems is just about the same as saying that prohibiting open fires in wilderness areas doesn't solve the problem of people who light fires anyway or that having traffic laws doesn't stop people from driving dangerously. {I would rather ignore your rather condescending notion that people use the prospects of an assault weapon ban "to avoid the real problem". And believe me when I say that 22 years in the Army taught me exactly what the term "assault weapon" means.}

We are a nation of laws, but just one law solves nothing. The fact is, unfortunate as it might be, often things don't happen in the absence of a legal requirement. If, in your opinion, the underlying issue is violent crime, than we need laws that require appropriate education (and don't ask what that might be, because I don't know), provide sanctions for criminal acts (and assure enforcement), and eliminate the tools that violent people use and that have no other real purpose.