Well, yes, I'm sympathetic to this position, but the biggest problem I see right now is that gun owners feel attacked (and these feelings are somewhat justified), and I think making it abundantly clear that they're not being attacked is a strategy worth trying.

If there is some other way to make it clear that they're not being attacked, other than actively going for coolness, I'm open to it instead. And if the U.S. could do what Australia did, I'd go for it in a second. The prospects just seem dim to me. Time to try a different approach, at least for now.