The love of guns in the United States has been well documented, as have multiple mass shootings across the country such as those in Orlando, San Bernardino, Newtown, and Virginia. The ease of access to guns in American society comes at a shocking cost.
As of September 2016, almost 11,000 people have been killed as a result of gun violence. Despite this high death toll, mass shootings in America show no sign of disappearing.
The Stateside obsession with guns can appear baffling to UK observers unfamiliar with its origins. So just how did this gun culture become so deep-rooted in the American psyche?
BBC source: Why Are Americans so Obsessed with Guns?
Wikipedia: Gun politics in the United States
(Score: 4, Insightful) by J053 on Monday January 09 2017, @11:40PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 10 2017, @05:35AM
Come on. That's a distinction without a difference.
By that same logic, short of acts of god, there are no accidents of any sort.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 10 2017, @08:16AM
The distinction between *accident* and other incidents is intent. The incidents where people were careless, and there is no malice are ACCIDENTS.
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Tuesday January 10 2017, @12:30PM
There are no gun accidents. Every unintentional shooting is strictly and provably caused by negligence on someone's part. A properly handled and maintained firearm does not fire itself by "accident".
Likewise there are almost no car accidents. A properly handled and maintained car does not crash, which means you're down to acts of nature
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 10 2017, @01:35PM
Nope, its all due to PEBSAS - problem exists between seat and steering wheel. Operator error. With firearms its outright negligence, like leaving a fucking cocked and loaded firearm where your child (or dog, or cat) can shoot you with it.