I don't think we really have a gun problem in the United States, though overall, we are more armed than any other developed nation. We have more guns per capita than any other nation, and we are no. 2 in per capita gun homicides (Mexico is #1). These kinds of figures would suggest that gun control may solve the problem of gun violence. It certainly should be part of the discussion, but will that work?
Much like the "War on Drugs" major gun control legislation will not do much to stem the tide of illegal gun ownership/use, since the people that comply aren't going to be the ones cause the problems. What will probably happen though is that certain behavior, that's currently legal, will be criminalized.
Unfortunately, the NRA doesn't do itself any favors when it puts out adverts like this:
Every President with school-age children has had some gun-toting Federal Agent following those children to and from school ever since the Secret Service has been in the business of Presidential protection. To put an advert like this, is obviously manipulative, misleading and disrespects the members of the NRA. If anything, this sort of phony emotional appeal will make more supporters of the "feel-good" knee-jerk gun control legislation than focused on real world solutions that will actually work.
I think an amount of gun control should be part of the discussion, but more people are killed with household tools than with firearms each year, and this kind of talk doesn't get to the root of the real problem. We don't have a gun problem, we have a violence problem. That's what we need to face, and that's what we need to fix.
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