You make the distinction that there is a time to talk about the big issues but this is a specific problem we need to address. With all due respect, that's the thinking that has governed the United States policy for the past thirty years and that has gotten us into problems.
If we're not going to address these bigger issues now, then when are we going to? We know for a fact that these little efforts to address things here and there simply don't work, and have substantially detrimental consequences.
So if you concede that there are larger root causes that lead to gun violence, drug transactions, sexual offending, etc., then when is the right time to address those? That's the question I would put to you.