While I agree that guns itself are not the root of the problem, I get the feeling that your position lacks some pragmatism.

Those people are dead at the hands of an angry white man, and they are not coming back.

Are they? Is there not a long between the thought of wanting to kill people and the act? I mean, it's not like other countries don't have angry losers that want to kill people, but they don't have mass shootings or mass C4 bombings or mass [whatevers] to the scale that the US mass shootings are happening. The root of the problem has been discussed here before (i.e. KB's "losers with no prospect and a gun") and I would want nothing more than to tackle the root of the problem, but the sheer ease with which you guys can buy and own guns is abhorrent at best and a catalyst for these shootings at worst.

I'd prefer we deal with the root problem and not have to worry about Phillips-head screwdriver wielding maniacs on the subway, or whatever.

Wouldn't you much prefer the loon in the subway to have a screwdriver instead of an AR-15? It may not solve the actual problem but I'm pretty sure not doing that makes the problem way worse. So I think restrictions are desperately needed in the short term, with societal changes something for the longer term. Despite what the NRA wants people to believe, it has bipartisan support:

A Quinnipiac University poll in June 2017 showed 94% of voters support background checks for all gun buyers–including 93% of Republicans. The same poll found that a majority, 57%, believed guns are too easy to buy, and only 35% thought more people carrying guns would make Americans safer. A Pew survey of gun owners found that almost 30% of them support stricter gun laws. “There’s a complete disconnect,” said Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat. Link.