While most people assume, perhaps because of TV shows or movies, that authorities can plug in a serial number and gather all the data about a gun, Mike Bouchard said that actually couldn't be further from the truth.

Bouchard, who works with firearm dealers to make sure they are compliant with the law, likens the situation to underage drinking: If someone can't get a beer, they may find someone who can buy it for them. The same is true of guns, he said.

"The rules are easily defeated," he said. "If (criminals) want a gun they are going to get a gun."

That's a hole that President Obama hopes to address with universal background checks, stronger control of gun sales and laws that would make it a crime to sell your own gun to someone without a background check.

Universal background checks would mark an important turning point in stemming gun violence, according to gun control advocate Lindsay Nichols.

"This may be the single most important gun violence prevention measure that the government could adopt," said Nichols, an attorney with the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. She said it would close a loophole that gave "dangerous criminals and dangerously mentally ill individuals ... a most unfettered access to firearms."

But NRA president David Keene suggested to CNN's Candy Crowley that he has little faith in universal background checks, saying they don't work.

That's because, Bouchard said, it assumes criminals will follow the law.

"These criminals don't care what the law says," he said.

While he said he believes expanding background checks is a step in the right direction, Bouchard said the real solution would be creating a database that tracks weapons purchases.

"If people knew every transaction of a gun was going to be recorded somewhere, I think they'd be more responsible with who they transferred their weapon to," he said.

Based on his experience, Bouchard said it would be pretty easy to establish a database to track weapon purchases and sales on a national level.

But he admits he doesn't know anyone who supports a nationwide gun registration.

Experts know that reducing the number of Americans killed by guns isn't a problem that will be solved overnight, let alone in a few years. It may take a long-term game of trial and error.

But with 12,000 to 15,000 people being killed by guns each year, Bouchard said the country has to start somewhere. Anywhere.

"Our whole society controls how much you can drink, how many pills you can buy, we have controls we accept on everything else in this society -- except guns," Bouchard said. "Those things are all acceptable to us. But with guns most people will not even discuss restrictions."