Or to put it another way in terms of gun ownership.
By state, the percentage of gun ownership is as follows:
New York - 18%
California - 23%
Alabama - 51%
Big differences between states that are bigger than most European countries.
Lots of Americans own guns for protection .
Lots of Americans own guns for recreation.
Lots of Americans believe that if the government took there guns and right to own them.
They would be left unable to protect them selfs from the government itself because as long as they have weapons it would be a guarantee against a government turning dictator, and if they did they would have the weapons needed for a reveloution.
LHS ...and despite you saying it is so, the UK is not the second most violent country in the world . and despite you saying it is not so the murder rate in the US is 4x greater than in the UK.
In the UK there are great regional differences between gun ownership and gun crime.
The special pleading does not obviate the clear fact that the US has a very real problem with gun crime and accidental firearms fatalities , specifically because of an "American" way.
Any similar country is by any standard 3rd world.
I feel sorry for the girl. I am sure it will haunt her for the rest of her life. Did the footage leading up to the shooting have to be put in the public domain? It is out there now forever.
Perhaps surprisingly, the kind of dickheads that roll around unlawfully carrying guns aren't dissuaded from doing so by mandatory minimum sentences. Various jurisdictions in the US have tried mandatory minimum sentences for loads of crimes and it doesn't do sod all to cut criminal activity.
sentencing guidelines now suggest a mandatory jail term
Well, which is it? Is it suggested or mandatory?
It's a gross generalisation. If you are happy with that then ok, but it's exactly the same as saying:British people as a whole have bad teeth or British people as a whole love Football.
Saying British people have bad teeth isn't the same as this isn't backed up by facts or stats regarding dental hygene.
But saying British people love football is the same. It not only the same but it also correct in the same way. British people do love football. That doesn't mean every one of us loves football but as a nation we do love football. It's our national sport.
Trying to argue that the USA don't have a gun problem becuase the number of guns varies between New York and Alabama is about as ludicrous as saying Britain doesn't love football becuase you don't like football.
Britain is a nation of football lovers (relative to other sports)
The USA is a nation of gun lovers (relative to other nations)
Both facts