One victim of the Aurora massacre was a young father who was shot in the eye. His wife, expecting another child, watched in horror as blood gushed from his face. Today, the victim is in a wheelchair and is unable to speak. I relate these disturbing details only in the hope that proponents of the NRA's "punish the criminal" philosophy come to realize the real-life consequences of that approach to the epidemic of gun violence in this country. Wouldn't it have been better if the assailant had not been able to get his hands on guns in the first place? No rational person can argue otherwise.