There's no "something needs to be done."

Army reservist Rober Card was accused of killing 18 and injuring 13 more in a rampage.

"...the gun [that] investigators believe Card used to carry out the massacre was purchased legally just days before he was hospitalized and ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation in July." [Source]

Here's an idea: how about requiring buyers to get a psychiatric evaluation *before* buying a gun? 49% of those surveyed, including 4 out of 10 Republicans, "support mental health tests before any gun purchase." [Source]

Well, we can't. Bearing arms is a *right*, much like freedom of speech. When buying a gun, you fill out a Form 4473, which asks if you've "been declared mentally defective."

The assumption is that -- unless you've been through that process -- you're mentally competent to have that gun.

Card, having not been through that process, was legally clear to buy any gun he wanted. What he intended to do with it was -- legally speaking -- no one's business.

If you want to reduce mass shootings in the U.S., it starts with changing the assumption that anyone without a felony or a confirmed mental defect is fine to own and operate a firearm.

Change the assumption, and you can change the law. Change the laws, and you can change the system. Change the system, and fewer people will die.

If that's not your priority, fine. There are winners and losers to every system change. And freedom isn't free.

But let's be clear about it. We are making a choice about who wins and who loses. No self-doubt about it. No hand-wringing, like the self-proclaimed "2A fanatic" lawyer in this story, who "declared that, despite his staunch pro-gun views, felt that 'something needs to be done.'" No. There's no "something needs to be done" with this. We've already decided.

We either change our assumptions, or we accept the simple, cold, brutal reality that we are pushing the price for our freedom onto people who did not anticipate they'd be the ones to pay for it.