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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
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Why Are Americans So Obsessed With Guns?
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(Score: 4, Insightful) by AthanasiusKircher on Monday January 09 2017, @09:29PM
Cars are much better at killing people than something designed to kill is at killing people.
Can you compare the total amount of time people spend handling guns with the total amount of time people spend driving cars in the U.S. during this time frame? While your quote makes for a great soundbite, I don't think the stats actually back up your claim.
According to AAA [aaa.com], Americans spend on average about 17,600 (about 293 hours) driving each year. That's over 48 minutes/day on average.
How much time does the average American spend handling a gun? Unless you're a major gun fanatic, I doubt it's anywhere near 48 minutes/day. Thus, it seems guns are quite a bit more efficient and effective at killing people than cars are.
(P.S. I'm actually a big supporter of the Second Amendment. I'm just tired of people -- on both sides of the gun argument -- citing a whole bunch of BS or deliberately distorting statistics.)
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday January 09 2017, @09:57PM
Few gun owners fondle their weapons in the manner that car owners lavish affection on their cars. ;^)
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 10 2017, @02:13PM
As someone who used to always carry when not at work, I can say I was in possession of my gun for much much more time than my vehicle. Guess what, I've been in multiple car accidents and have never once had an accident with a gun.