Moms, it is time.

We live in upstate New York, where there are lots of responsible sportspeople who own guns. I know several educated, intellectual gun-owners who wouldn't hurt a fly and don't toe the NRA party line.

There are outspoken Republican gun-owners up here, but also quite a few Democrats who quietly own - I know because we have friends on both sides of the aisle.

But when I found this video (I wanted to know what they really mean by "assault weapon", and this is the exact model that was used in Newtown), I almost cried. What purpose this kind of gun would serve in sport - in "target" shooting - is completely and utterly beyond me.

I would really like to see us come together and, for the benefit of the greater good, forfeit the right to own these rapid-fire, adrenaline-pumping guns.

Not banning all guns, but most definitely these specific ones.

Maybe we need an organization, like MAAD. We could call ourselves MAAW (Mothers Against Assault Weapons) or MFRGO (Mothers For Responsible Gun Ownership) if we don't care about making an acronym that's easy to remember.

I'm really upset that we're arguing over gun legislation as an "all or nothing" proposition, when we could use our critical thinking and problem solving skills to come up with meaningful, enforceable laws to which we could all reasonably adhere.

No pushing bills through at midnight when everyone is sleeping (a sneaky tactic if ever there were one). No sweeping and thoughtless legislation that makes lawmakers feel good but does, in fact, very little.

I'm talking about a compromise, where we recognize and respect our American spirit and sports legacy while also giving a little on one freedom in order to take back another one - the freedom to go to movie theaters and schools and malls with less threat to personal safety.

Not a Band-Aid, not a cure, but steps in the right direction.