Shedding a few tears over our gun problems

I don't own a gun.

In fact, I haven't held one in my hand since I put down my beloved Daisy BB-Gun when I was a kid. No, I didn't shoot my eye out. I did, however, get a feel for what a gun can do. An eccentric neighbor once 'hired' a friend and me to keep birds away from his treasured apple trees.

I got a pretty good look at what even a BB-gun could do. It was a completely different feeling than shooting at bottles or cans, or some other lifeless target. It was not a good feeling. I put down my BB-Gun and haven't picked one up since. So maybe I'm not the best candidate to talk about gun control.

I am guessing much of the country will once again be having this debate today. And I am guessing that it all will amount to not a lot.

A tearful President Obama yesterday addressed the nation and announced he was taking executive action to put on place more stringent controls on the sale of guns.

He reviewed the nation's tragic recent history of mass shooting, noting that these things simply do not happen with this frequency in other parts of the world.

It was when he touched on the topic of the killing of innocent schoolchildren in Sandy Hook, Conn., that the commander-in-chief paused to wipe away the tears.

I don't have a problem with anything the president put in place yesterday.

I realize that is far from a unanimous opinion.

Here's something that may surprise you.

I don't think they will make much of a difference.

The president rolled out a series of 10 provisions, including one that will require more gun sellers - including those who sell at gun shows or online - to be licensed and compel them to perform background checks on prospective gun buyers. Here is the full list of what he plans to do.

The president took dead aim at the National Rifle Association, noting that while they "may Congress hostage, they do not hold the American people hostage."

His critics blasted the moves, accusing him of infringing on personal rights and again accusing him of trying to roll back citizens Second Amendment right to bear arms.

I don't think that argument really holds water. But I still don't think these moves are going to stop deranged people from getting guns and inflicting damage with them.

These executive actions would not have prevented the slaughter of those innocents in Sandy Hook, nor those attending a holiday party just a month ago in San Bernardino, Calif.

In fact, a review by the Associated Press shows they likely would have no impact in keeping weapons from the hands of suspects in several of the deadliest recent mass shootings.

In both of those deadly shooting sprees, the shooters obtained their weapons from others, thus skirting any background check. In many other instances, shooters simply obtained their weapons legally, then went about their deadly business.

"Every time I think of those kids," the tearful president said of the horrific memory of Sandy Hook, "it makes me mad."

It makes me mad, too.

Not just for the loss of life.

But for the loss of our appreciation of life, our love of guns, and the ease people can obtain them, both legally and illegally. The overwhelming majority of American gun owners are law-abiding citizens.

They are not the issue.

But how do you keep guns out of the hands of those who clearly should not possess them?

That remains the crucial question in this bitterly debated dilemma.

Nothing the president said or did yesterday is likely to change that.