A real solution: Public pronouncements sound good, but do they solve problem?

Another day and another rally in Newtown, Conn., as the president continues his campaign to change gun laws.

All President Barack Obama says he is asking is for the nation to make it harder for criminals to get guns -- and, perhaps, to prevent another shooting.

And that sounds good -- like we are doing something to make this tragic situation less painful for those who are still trying to suffer through it.

It was heart-wrenching to see the pain in the faces of the parents who were there -- and it would have been easy to join the rallying cry that the solution to making sure no parent ever has to endure that same pain is simply to make background checks tougher and to place limits on ownership.

But that is not all it would take. Just as, in the past, such measures did not prevent previous tragedies.

And that is why this is not an issue that should simply be reactionary -- a quick action by Congress that does nothing more than put a rather tenuous Band Aid on a gaping wound -- and takes no real steps to addressing the real issues.

This is not just about guns. And to act on only that aspect of what happened in Newtown is nothing short of disingenuous -- and a brush-off to a real concern.

To really address this issue, we have to deal with mental illness, violence on television and in video games and school safety.

Making it harder to get guns, while it might sound like a solution, is not what will prevent another Newtown.

The families don't just deserve a vote on gun measures. They deserve action that will matter. They deserve to know that we took more than the easy way out. And that requires more than soundbites and a nice, heartfelt speech.

Published in Editorials on April 9, 2013 2:57 PM