Stephanie Slade

In the aftermath of the horrific shooting in Newtown, Conn., many Americans have found themselves wondering what could be done to prevent such tragedies in the future. Stricter gun control legislation, better mental health services, and less emphasis on violence in movies and video games have been proffered as solutions. What much of the debate misses, however, is that high-profile massacres like the one at Sandy Hook are a drop in the bucket of this country's true gun violence epidemic: the one in our inner cities. On net, taking steps to keep weapons out of the hands of the deranged—if there even are ways to keep people bent on wreaking havoc from acquiring the tools with which to do so—would actually do little to save lives.

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