I hope that heironymouspasparagus is responsible with his guns, but many, many gun-owners are not. It is not irresponsible to close loopholes at registration of guns. We all know that a large percentage of guns are just traded, handed around, stolen, and that many of these guns are used during a crime.
You can scream your want to have no paperwork on your guns and no restrictions on what types of magazines you want, but because of other people behaving badly, something has to be done.
Your demands are unreasonable, and reasonable minds will settle this debate.
First of all, I don't think anyone is screaming to have "no paperwork." In fact I think we all agree, registration is both reasonable and necessary to keep guns out of the hands of those for whom it is illegal to purchase firearms.
Second, we keep going down this road on restrictions to magazines, or handles, or flash suppressors, or plastic grips. None of which have anything at all to do with crazy people getting guns and shooting kids. So to say that "reasonable minds will settle this debate" is actually quite true. Reason is necessary to look at these tragedies as well as other current and historical statistics from a logical standpoint and deduct the cause, and therefore remedies for such gun violence.
President Obama is far from stupid. He had an opportunity, with the stroke of a pen to sign an executive order reinstating the assault weapons ban, and implementing new restrictions of magazines in all weapons. Many, both Republican and Democrats thought that was exactly what he planned to do. However, he knew that the facts behind the violence could not support such action even if the emotion did. So he provided 23 orders designed to follow a far more logical path, and address the very real issues of mental health. He chose, perhaps for the first time in his career, to impact the problem rather than play politics.
Because the president is not stupid, he also knows that this is as far as this debate will go. The senate will not address it, because to do so would mean the loss of at least 6 Democrats, and shift the balance of power to the Republicans.
So, the president acted on three logical prepositions.
1. Mental illness combined with already illegal access to weapons resulted in these deaths. Basically, an enforcement issue.
2. Executive or legislative action directed at gun ownership would have had no effect in preventing the events at Sandy Hook or Auora.
3. Allowing Congress to address the issue is the most logical path of action to preserve his power structure in the senate.
The public debate will certainly continue, but any legislative action will be symbolic at most.
