Mr gryphon: you point out one of the loopholes that I've suggested we close: universal background checks. Since they ARE NOT required for handgun purchases, and this is the weapon most used in crime, wouldn't this be a good place to start? Remember, since we are concerned about violent crime, we want to choke off the flow of guns to criminal hands.
Your comment about safes is way off the mark. I'm in the market for a new gun safe. The one I intend to buy at Cabela's costs $1100, is upright, has stainless steel bolts, and holds about 25 long guns and/or handguns. It can be bolted to the floor and weighs 500 pounds. No thief will be able to saw into it with a saber saw. If you know of a saber saw that can cut hardened steel, please let me know. I'd love to have something that tough for my woodworking projects. There are plenty of other safes out there, large and small, that would secure weapons. So cost and availability are not really reasons for not securing your firearms.
Remember, gun crime, accidental deaths, and mass shootings by the mentally ill are not problems we will solve in a week. It will take time. But we have to start somewhere. We need to change our gun culture from one of casualness to one of serious responsibility.
As far as a 100% ban on guns, no one is suggesting such a ludicrous proposition.