"There has to be some kind of middle ground, Papa Smurf, where we can get a handle on this kind of violence."

That's the Holy Grail, isn't it?  Like several mass-shooters before him, Paddock gave no indication he was capable of this... no history of mental illness (that we know of), no criminal history, no bizarre behavior.  Nothing.  Some things may come to light as the investigation progresses, but as it stands now, he was in all respects an upstanding, successful citizen who went berserk, with absolutely no forewarning. Short of banning all private ownership of guns, and going door-to-door confiscating them (something likely to touch off a full scale revolution), how do you protect against something like that?  A total gun ban, or even banning certain types of weapons, isn't likely to be any more effective than laws banning cocaine and heroin.  And as is often pointed out, Chicago has some of the toughest laws in the country, yet resembles a free-fire zone. I just don't know.