I am not American, which is why I think it is easier for me to see how ridiculous the whole gun issue is over there.
First, they keep talking about gun control, as though that in and of itself is going to deter gun crime in the first place.
Think about it... Nothing is easier than disarming peaceful and law-abiding people, and nothing is harder than disarming people who are neither of those two things.
There are over 300 million weapons in the US, nearly as many as Americans. You can bet that those who want a gun, regardless of the law, are going to get one. Making the law-abiding citizens of the USA sitting ducks by disarming them is only going to benefit one kind of people... The political, media and academic elites who focus on their rose-tinted vision and feeling good about themselves as opposed to the everyday people they inadvertently endanger.
Also, far more people are killed in the USA by handguns than assault rifles. Does that mean ALL guns have to be illegal?
Another thing, and this is where it gets ridiculous... There are already a plethora of laws concerning guns. Therefore, the whole notions that we "need more laws around gun control" is just plain ignorance.
There is very often a failure to actually enforce the laws. The FBI was warned TWICE about the Parkland, Florida shooter. They also ignored those warnings twice. Law enforcement has also failed to do its job in regards to shootings that took place in South Carolina, San Bernadino, the Texas Church Massacre, among others. It is not uncommon for US intelligence gathering to be so inept to the point of being a laughing stock.
The US can learn from another nation... Israel.
In 1974, Israel witnessed the Ma’alot Massacre, where Palestinian terrorists took 115 people hostage at an Elementary School. Twenty-two children and three others were killed and 68 injured.
They didn't waste time in armouring school buses, having armed guards outside school, as well as check everyone at schools. They don't just stand there. Also, students in Israel are trained how to react in shooting situations, rather than be frozen by panic.
Are you surprised to learn that Israel has not had a single school shooting incident since then?
In the USA, students are drilled in how to respond in an earthquake situation. I don't know about you, but in my lifetime, guns have killed more Americans than earthquakes, and being a gun nations, why can't kids be trained in how to respond in shooter situations, seeing as they are not so uncommon anymore?
I am willing to bet the rent money that some anti-gun shibboleth is going to demonize me for not parroting the same anti-gun rhetoric they do.
Want to know why I don't support gun control? Because there are both unintended consequences and trade-offs involved in decision-making, and as much as it would be lovely to see less guns around, it won't fix the problem (at least not in the USA).
But to those who focus on feelings of how things ought to be, trade-offs or results matter little to nothing.