Rabbis should support gun control

I spent the day in New York, and much of that time was in the airport, where the televisions seemed to be locked into all-Newtown, all the time. Interviews with counselors, coverage regarding the funerals, interviews with people who knew the murderer, and, of course, the discussion about gun control.

I know we want to have freedom. And I know that guns are needed for self-defense. And I know that eliminating guns won't eliminate murder. But as a Rabbi, this one is a no-brainer. Not in the sense that it's a pure halachic requirement – Rabbi J. David Bleich has already covered that one – but in the sense that legislation controlling access to heavy weapons would fit the standard model for rabbinic legislation created for the good of the community.

Worried about the right to bear arms? Rabbinic law is certainly in the habit of suspending individual rights for the perceived greater good, and certainly where that good involves saving lives.

Certain that this won't prevent a determined murderer? That's true – but rabbinic law regularly prohibits certain activities as a fence to prevent violation of biblical law, even though willful sinners will flout the rabbinic and biblical law.

Example: The sages prohibited raising certain species of animals in Israel, because those were known to invade others' property. (Bava Kama 79b) Certainly, that limited personal freedom. And certainly, that wouldn't stop criminals from grazing their animals on others' land. But the step was made, and it mattered.

If you believe in the idea of creating imperfect protective legislation rather than do nothing, then gun control is an obvious choice.

Added thought: 
Think that guns are needed for protection/deterrent? Suicide bombers have proven that people who are not sane, or who are not operating by normal standards, don't need deterrents. And as Newtown, Virginia Tech, Aurora and so on show, our possession of guns isn't doing a good job of either protecting or deterring.

I've lived in Canada for 3+ years now. There have been men who have picked up guns and shot randomly in public places - but far, far fewer than in the US over the same period, way out of proportion with the population differential.