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Friday, October 30, 2026Oct 30

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Cooper: On guns, what can be done?

Smith & Wesson AR-15 rifles for sale are shown at a 2014 gun show in Loveland, Colorado.
Smith & Wesson AR-15 rifles for sale are shown at a 2014 gun show in Loveland, Colorado. Smith & Wesson AR-15 rifles for sale are shown at a 2014 gun show in Loveland, Colorado.

Conservative Americans no less than liberal Americans want to see the end of mass shootings in this country.

But neither side seems to want to give an inch on their stances about guns, who can have them, what kind they can have, and whether all those who have them should have background checks or register their guns.

Indeed, we’re not sure either political side wants things to change. What would they argue about in relation to guns? How would they raise money off the issue?

The crux of the problem, it has always seemed to us, is the number of guns in the gunisphere – we made that up – that are not registered, not known and not purchased.

Who has them, how many do they have and how will we ever know?