Last night a friend and I were discussing how depressing it is to read The Trib's Lights and Sirens blog. The flood of South Sound idiot criminals carrying out idiot acts, including what seems to be a rise in gun violence, can lead one to believe maybe the End of the World is just around the corner. I've found it nearly impossible to avoid thinking about gun control as the AP updates from the Connecticut elementary school mass murder scene consume my iPhone. Actually, I found it nearly impossible to avoid thinking about anything other than hugging my 9-year-old.

Once again, it's time to discuss stricter gun control.

No doubt calls for stricter gun control will continue to be flicked away by politicians too timid to go up against the NRA, gun manufacturers and others who believe any form of gun control leads to more control, and then more, and ultimately to a ban on gun ownership of all kinds.

Yes, idiot people with idiot intentions would have guns and law-abiding citizens wouldn't. Certainly, for a little while. That's the situation now. But ban guns and you'll reduce the availability of guns, to law-abiding and non-law-abiding citizens alike.

I'm sure there exists a small minority who still believe citizens must arm themselves so we can resist an oppressive government. But, I believe the majority of American fall into two groups: Americans who believe they need guns for protection against criminals and Americans who want to own guns for pleasure, such as target shooting and hunting. But if there were no guns, criminals wouldn't have them. And right now most people would agree the pleasures are not worth the cost of those 26 victims in Newton, Conn.

Let's get it done.