Candles burn next to a lighted tree at a makeshift shrine in Newtown, Connecticut, commemorating the victims of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.
Editor's note: Anil Dash is an entrepreneur and writer in New York. He blogs at dashes.com Follow him on Twitter.
(CNN) -- I'm writing about some changes we need to make in the wake of the horrible school shootings in Sandy Hook.
Now stop. Take two deep breaths.
Stop. Don't race to the bottom of the screen to leave a comment repeating the same statements you've made after every such shooting in your life.
We have the same conversation each time. We say things that alienate our friends on Facebook. Or we get affirmative agreement from our family members. And nothing changes.
Here's the good news: There are specific, meaningful policy guidelines we can adopt as a country that nearly everyone agrees with across the political spectrum. We'll never eliminate unexpected violence, but a small number of changes could save thousands of lives.
Will Newtown change America's attitude toward guns?
I've shared two key ideas with more than half a million people across a variety of social networks online in recent days, and even over this incredibly stressful weekend with such passionate feelings behind everyone's words, I've heard nearly universal consensus on implementing these two changes.
1. Mental health screenings before gun purchases. Because everyone in America will have health coverage next year, we can ask for a simple, straightforward clean bill of mental health before a person can buy a gun. Just like we ask drivers to take an eye test before hitting the road, we should do the same when someone wants to buy a gun. The most passionate target shooters, hunters and self-defense enthusiasts I know all agree: There are often warning signs in the boys and young men who usually carry out these acts of mass violence, and broadly implemented tests could reduce the number of them who have access to guns, without affecting any of the hundreds of millions of safe, responsible gun owners in America.
While law enforcement officials say that the guns used in Newtown had been bought legally by Adam Lanza's mother, there are instances when rampage shooters have acquired guns illegally. And we are talking here about areas for broad agreement. A place to start. Which brings us to the second key idea.
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2. More accountable gun distribution and retailing. Since the earliest days of our country, guns have been relatively readily available, and there's no need to compromise that to improve the safety of our gun distribution infrastructure. Instead, we can look at weak points in gun distribution through which guns go from legal manufacturers to illegal use.
Gun shows that require only a brief in-person event with no live-fire training to qualify for a purchase permit, or that allow bulk purchase of weapons disrespect the care and dedication with which most gun owners teach themselves and their children. Again, a few simple changes requiring proof of real safety, such as shooting lessons before buying a weapon just makes common sense, not only to prevent irresponsible gun distribution, but to ensure that future generations of gun owners obey the traditions of the hundreds of years of millions of thoughtful, smart gun owners in America.
Lawmakers seem prepared to take on gun control
Now stop.
If you're like most Americans, you already have some canned response ready. You want to talk about a slippery slope or how guns don't kill people, people do. Or you want to rant about how barbaric and foolish gun owners are and how the Second Amendment was written in a totally different period in history.
Two deep breaths.
We've all heard all this before. When you fall back into those tired cliches, you put us back in the cycle where no progress happens. You put us back into a cycle where the responsible gun owners who don't mind some minor changes to encourage upholding the American tradition of safe shooting get stuck feeling defensive against the condescension of people who've never fired a gun.
You put us back into a cycle where hundreds of millions of thoughtful opponents of the proliferation of lethal weapons in the hands of unstable people are forced to stand in disbelief as people tell them that these kinds of tragedies are somehow inherently American and thus can't be prevented.
When I shared these two simple ideas with about half a million people across a few social networks, at first people responded out of habit, with extremists ranting about fantasies of armed insurrection against the government or of hundreds of millions of guns being melted down.
But once they read what we're actually saying, hundreds of people, from across the political spectrum, came together and agreed on these principles, that a few simple ideas can make a big difference. I've seen gun-owning Obama voters in the hip hop industry who agree with prominent Romney supporters in the financial industry who would never bring a gun into their home, with all in favor of a few common-sense guidelines.
We know we can fix things because we've made huge progress already. America is a far less violent country that it used to be. Violent crime overall is lower than it has been in decades. The reality is, the overwhelming majority of Americans kids are safe. But dozens of our kids are shot every week, so we have to do better. And just as we've made so much progress on so many intractable problems, we can fix this one, too.
Step away from the usual rehearsed responses. Stop demonizing your fellow Americans, your fellow countrymen who love their kids as much as you do.
Instead, start. Start with two simple ideas.
And start by talking to someone who disagrees with you overall on all the big issues around guns and violence in our society, and see if you can't agree on these two points. We won't solve the whole problem, but at long, long last, we'll make a small bit of meaningful progress, and will have a policy that our representatives across the political spectrum can unite behind.
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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Anil Dash.
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Erica Simmons rings the campus bell at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, during a nationwide commemoration December 21, marking a week since the Newtown, Connecticut, mass shooting. Church bells rang out across the country at 9:30 ET Friday to remember those who died in the gun rampage.
A woman pauses at a streetside memorial during a moment of silence on December 21 in Newtown.
Connecticut State Police block the road to Sandy Hook Elementary School during a moment of silence on December 21. A week ago, a gunman forced his way into the school and shot and killed 26 people, including 20 children.
A woman bows her head in Newtown's Sandy Hook village on December 21.
People observe a moment of silence for the school shooting victims at the Blue Colony Diner in Newtown on December 21.
Children in Newtown, excluding Sandy Hook Elementary, return to classes on Tuesday, December 18, four days after the shooting at the elementary school.
U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, D-Rhode Island, holds a news conference with the Brady Campaign to discuss gun violence. In attendance with the Brady Campaign were several survivors of gun violence and family members of victims of gun violence.
Members of the human rights group Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption light candles showing the names of those killed during the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, during a prayer vigil in front of the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines on December 18.
Children light candles to pay their respects to the victims of the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting at the main square in Tirana, Albania, on Monday, December 17. The deadly gun rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School has provoked strong reactions from around the world.
Protesters march on the National Rifle Association's Capitol Hill lobbyist offices in Washington on December 17.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks out for stronger gun control at a press conference at City Hall on December 17. Bloomberg, co-chair of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, was joined by victims and survivors of gun violence.
Chris Foye, whose son Chris Owens was killed by a stray bullet in 2009, stands with other survivors and family members of gun violence at Bloomberg's press conference on December 17 in New York.
People pay their respects on December 17 at a makeshift shrine in Newtown to the victims of Friday's elementary school shooting. Funerals began Monday in the Connecticut town.
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange hold a moment of silence on December 17 in honor of the shooting victims.
Young people mourn at Newtown High School before a memorial service attended by President Obama on Sunday, December 16.
President Barack Obama waits to speak at an interfaith vigil for the shooting victims from Sandy Hook Elementary School December 16 at Newtown High School.
Mourners comfort one another December 16 before U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at an interfaith vigil for the shooting victims.
Two women embrace before the interfaith vigil at Newtown High School on Sunday evening.
From left: Newtown residents Claire Swanson, Kate Suba, Jaden Albrecht, Simran Chand and New London, Connecticut, residents Rachel Pullen and her son, Landon DeCecco, hold candles at a memorial for victims on Sunday, December 16, in Newtown, Connecticut.
A young boy walks past Christmas trees set up at a makeshift shrine to the shooting victims in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 16.
Ty Diaz is kissed by his mother, Yvette, at a memorial down the street from Sandy Hook on December 16.
Teddy bears, flowers and candles in memory of those killed are left at a memorial down the street from the school on December 16.
Two teenagers embrace at a makeshift shrine to the victims in Newtown on December 16.
Nuns pay their respects at a makeshift shrine to the victims on December 16.
Members of Sisters of Christian Charity go to lay flowers in front of the Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 16 in Newtown.
A woman receives a hug as she leaves morning service December 16 at Trinity Church in Newtown near the elementary school.
Parishioners pay their respects to the victims of the elementary school shooting while attending Mass at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown on December 16.
Police officers honor the victims of the school shooting at the St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church on December 16 in Newtown.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have a moment of silence in honor of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims before their game against the Miami Dolphins on December 16.
A parishioner kneels in front of a makeshift memorial at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown on December 16.
A police officer removes flowers from a busy intersection on December 16 in Newtown. Police said they were afraid the memorial, left for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, would cause a traffic hazard.
A woman hugs her daughter on the steps of Trinity Church on December 16 in Newtown.
Angel wood cutouts for each of the 27 victims are set up on hillside in Newtown on December 16.
People in Bangalore, India, hold cards and photographs of the slain at a candlelight vigil outside a Catholic church on December 16.
J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans shows his glove in remembrance of the victims before the start of a game against the Indianapolis Colts on December 16 in Houston.
Donna Soto, right, mother of Victoria Soto, the first-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School who was shot and killed while protecting her students, hugs her daughter Karly while mourning their loss at a candlelight memorial at Stratford High School on Saturday, December 15, in Stratford, Connecticut.
Firefighters kneel to pay their respects at a makeshift memorial near the school in Newtown on Saturday.
A child lights a candle at a memorial filled with flowers, stuffed toys and candles outside of Saint Rose of Lima Church near Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on Saturday.
Candles light up a memorial outside of Saint Rose of Lima Church in Newtown.
Lucas, Kelly and Michael DaSilva pray and embrace at a makeshift memorial near the school in Newtown.
People are overcome with emotion Saturday at a makeshift memorial near Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.
Residents arrive Saturday to pay tribute to the victims of an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
A couple carry balloons to place at a curbside shrine to in Newtown on Saturday.
A mother and daughter attend a prayer service at St. John's Episcopal Church in Newtown on Saturday.
Flowers and signs of sympathy adorn the street leading to Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Claudia Urbiana and daughter Jocelyne Cardenas, left, hug outside of the entrance to the Sandy Hook school.
A makeshift memorial with flowers, stuffed toys and candles sit outside Saint Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown, Connecticut, on Saturday.
A man bows his head as he stands at a makeshift memorial, outside Saint Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown on Saturday, December 15.
New Jersey resident Steve Wruble, who was moved to drive out to Connecticut to support local residents, grieves for victims at the entrance to Sandy Hook village in Newtown on Saturday.
People attend a prayer service in Newtown on Saturday to reflect.
A mother hugs her children after paying tribute to the victims in Newtown on Saturday, December 15.
Newtown High School student Trevor Lopez stands outside of a church where residents have come to pray and reflect on Saturday
Andrea Jaeger places flowers and a candle at a makeshift memorial outside a firehouse near Sandy Hook Elementary School on Saturday.
The U.S. flag flies at half-staff above the White House on Saturday.
Ken Kowalsky and his daughter Rebecca, 13, embrace while standing at the end of the road leading to Sandy Hook Elementary School on Saturday.
A woman puts a flower near crosses planted by Rio de Paz (Rio of Peace), in memory of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.
A woman sits during a service at the Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford, Connecticut on Friday, December 14.
Fans at the NBA game between the Utah Jazz and the Phoenix Suns participate in a moment of silence for the victims of the Newtown shooting on Friday in Phoenix.
An overflow crowd listens to a church service held at the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Newtown on December 14.
People gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose Church on Friday.
People gather for a vigil outside the White House in Washington following the Connecticut elementary school shooting on Friday.
Candles burn as people gather for a vigil outside the White House.
Hartford, Connecticut, Mayor Padro Segarra speaks emotionally about the students and teachers who died earlier in the day at Sandy Hook Elementary School in nearby Newtown at a candlelight vigil at Bushnell Park in Hartford on Friday.
Cynthia Alvarez is comforted by her mother, Lilia, as people gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown.
People gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose Church in Newtown.
People gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose Church.
People gather inside the St. Rose Church to remember the shooting victims on Friday
A woman bows her head during a vigil for the shooting victims at St. Rose Church.
People gather in the St. Rose Church for a memorial service Friday.
Women comfort each other during the vigil at St. Rose Church.
A woman looks on during the vigil at St. Rose Church.
People hug outside of the Newtown United Methodist Church on Friday, near the site of the shootings at the Sandy Hook school.
A flag at the U.S. Capitol flies at half-staff after President Barack Obama ordered the action while speaking from the White House. Obama called for "meaningful action" in the wake of the school shooting.
Julie Henson of San Francisco joins other people outside the White House to participate in a candlelight vigil on Friday.
Obama wipes tears as he makes a statement in response to the shooting on Friday.
Washington resident Rachel Perrone, left, and her 5-year-old son, Joe, center, join others outside the White House in a candlelight vigil.
Faisal Ali, right, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, joins the vigil outside the White House.
People gather outside the White House to participate in a candlelight vigil.
Supporters of gun control hold a candlelight vigil for victims of the shooting outside the White House.
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