"I think it is becoming painfully obvious that the semi-automatic assault rifle is the common denominator in these attacks."

Only because of a recent copy cat effect. Handguns can just as easily be used to kill a lot of people and have. See Virginia Tech 2007 (32 dead). According to FBI statistics, rifles of ANY kind are used in less than 3% of murders and of that number, AR-15 type rifles are used in an even smaller number. Yet somehow AR-15s are a big problem now because they've been used in a few mass shootings? Give me a break. You're just coming after so-called "assault rifles" because you perceive those would be easier to ban than handguns. If you thought you stood a chance of banning people's defensive handguns you'd be coming after those too.