Quote Originally Posted by ramAnag View Post
I suspect that’s not the point, Ram. I doubt people object to gun ownership by responsible individuals for sporting purposes, but the 2nd Amendment together with the historic gun culture of the US have created a scenario where, imo, the necessary checks etc have been sacrificed on the altar of the right to carry arms being enshrined in their culture.
The number of and easy availability of guns and ammunition in the States inevitably leads to there being more incidents of gun crime and atrocities such as Columbine and Sandy Hook imo.
Certainly a society where people can wander around the streets openly carrying semi automatic assault rifles is one I'm glad I don't live in.

As for most gun crime being black on black, and knife crime is often dismissed in the same way in the Uk. As in many western societies, if your in a middle income group or above then your probably unlikely to encounter a problem unless some crazy turns up at your school, or office or you somehow wander into a poorer area.

At this point I'd probably normally say that a concerted effort to reduce poverty and increase lifestyle chances for lower income groups would be a good place to start, but then I'm sure I'd be given a sermon on how this is just idealistic.