Analysis: Why gun controls are off the agenda in America

CNN World ^ | 7-23-2012 | Jonathan Mann

[Sir Napsalot]

What is it about Americans and guns? ...

"I can tell you that I don't think there's any other developed country in the world that has remotely the problem we have," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said after the shooting rampage in Colorado.

There are an estimated 270 million guns in the hands of civilians in the United States, making Americans the most heavily armed people in the world per capita. Yemen, ..., comes in a distant second.

From Washington to the well-stocked shelves of Walmart stores nationwide, guns are regarded in the United States as a commonplace if controversial consumer item for millions of law-abiding hunters, collectors and citizens concerned about their safety. They are also in the hands of thousands of killers too; a Washington-based anti-gun lobby says those guns shoot more than 100,000 people a year. In 2010, there were more than 30,000 deaths caused by firearms when the number of homicides, suicides and accidental deaths are tallied.

....

CNN and Gallup surveys going back years suggest that Americans are split between those who approve of current gun-control laws and respondents who would like to see them made more restrictive. Americans who'd like no controls at all are a small minority.

.....

America is not unique. Norwegians are marking the first anniversary of a shooting massacre that took the lives of 69 people at a summer camp outside of Oslo. Eight more people were that day killed by a bomb in the Norwegian capital itself. The confessed killer is awaiting the verdict of his trial.

But America seems to be the place the whole world thinks of when apparently ordinary people use guns for grotesque acts of violence. America stands alone in its historic and cultural attachment to guns. America stands armed.

[Little Ray]

I like curios and relics! Maybe we could just teach them how to safely clear a weapon in the classroom? Maybe in Health class?

[DaveA37]

“There are an estimated 270 million guns in the hands of civilians in the United States, making Americans the most heavily armed people in the world per capita.”....

Yep, meaning there are more guns than politicians. And that my friends is what they are afraid of. If all the gun owning folks in America were to band together, they would make up the largest army in the world. Indeed, the government has more sophisticated weaponry but the “civilian army” could put up one hell of a fight.

[Little Ray]

Before you think about ever going that route, watch this video:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=7e2_1342645222

Two Apaches wipe out a platoon of Taliban without breaking a sweat. When one runs out of 30mm, it burns $30K Hellfires to kill individual jihadis.

That is what the Federales would be using against us. I don’t see much prospect for winning.

[muawiyah]

No, the military would not be using anything against us ~ we know where they live ~

[Little Ray]

Really? You think their families will be left “unsecured?” After all the Federales might need leverage, too.

Besides, who says it will be the military flying the Apaches? I can see DHS and BATFE Apaches in our future if elites in Washington feel threatened and don’t trust the military...

[muawiyah]

You can’t even begin to protect all the dependents ~

[William Tell]

muawiyah said: "That is what the Federales would be using against us. I don’t see much prospect for winning."

The "enemy" will not be the U.S. military. It will be the U.S. government. Perhaps substantial parts of the military will side with the government. Unless the military can assign protective units for every government official, bureaucrat, and activity, there will be plenty of targets for the people where they won't be facing armed helicopters.