I always see statistics thrown into these kinds of debates...
Its true that America has a large gun related homocides and violence, but no anti-gun people would want to admit that in the past 20 years the murder rate in the US has dropped by almost half. US crime rate is actually the lowest it has been in decades, even despite the recession - in main part thanks to technology, polices, and policing.
Mass shootings are actually down
*, but public perception says otherwise - just like the perception of nationwide violence, many people think it has gotten worse despite statistics.
Some people like to throw in UK and Japan, because of their very strict gun laws/bans they have much lower murder rates than America. The fail to mention that every single crime statistic is lower than they are in America... rapes, robberies, thief, etc...
I personally believe its the culture that's facilitating violence.
Now call me crazzy, I'm an owner of four guns (AKM, AR-15 assault rifles, and .380 .45 pistols), but I actually think we could use stricter gun laws. I also understand more guns in American homes actually contribute to more suicides, family violence, and much more accidental shootings. Yes, the easier access to guns make it easier for mentally deranged people to carry out their attacks... like I sad, call me crazzy for admitting that and being a gun owner at the same time.
I remember when I was 8 years old and my grandmother shot someone in the shoulder while breaking into our house. She was on the phone with a 911 operator, thankfully the cops arrived in seconds - probably because they where already in the area looking for the suspect. Turns out a family member went to check on his sister down the block, and found her dead in the house, the killer ran off because he was no match for him... but I guess the killer thought my grandmother was an easy target and started smashing the bedroom window in. If the cops were not in pursuit, and my grandma didn't have her 380 who knows what would have happened to me and her
. The killer had mental issues, and the lady was dead for 3 days as he lived in her house... crazy peop.
Gun control is a tricky subject, and funny enough... all this
anti-gun heretic will probably increase gun sales in the next couple months just as it did when Obama took office.
Is this for EVERY type of firearm?
Individual states also have different laws, and some laws even apply for out of state travelers. Some areas guns are illegal, like NYC and Washington DC. DC coincidentally has one of the highest murder rates in the country, but admittedly gun violence
average rate has lowered sin the banning of guns. NYC is one of the safest cities in America when it comes to violence, but this was result of a host of changes that fundamentally reversed ALL crime trends.