We can transfer the blame wherever we want. The elephant in the room is still the presence of guns.

@JackPedigo I absolutely agree we need gun control. But Canada has guns. They Don't have the ridiculous overload of supply we have in the States, but citizens still have access. So it is more than JUST the presence of guns.

@MikeInBatonRouge From your reply it seems it IS about the presence of guns. It is a numbers thing and the more guns the more the problems. Also, the access in Canada is limited. One additional item about the social net is the tax base. I worked as a records Manager for KPMG (the world's largest public accounting firm) and worked with the tax, audit and consulting (before they were declared illegal). One partner was a Canadian. I also lived in Germany and understood their tax system. In the U.S. we have the lowest personal income tax of the developed nations. The business tax is (was until the recent tax law) made up for any shortages. It is the tax base that often determines what a government does for it's citizenry.

@JackPedigo I think we are saying similar things from different directions. I agree the volume and amount of firepower is a huge problem. But when you wrote "the presence of guns," I interpreted that as you saying any guns. That is now apparently not what you meant?
But I stand by my point that the other factors also matter. We are, or have become, quite the mean-spirited, callous and materialistic culture; not every one of us, but certainly large numbers. The glaring disparities in wealth, coupled with serious poverty is a powder keg. The systematic disenfranchisement of minorities is another. Throw on top of that masses of easily accessible firearms, and there is the unfortunate spark.

@MikeInBatonRouge The CDC and NIH cannot do research on gun violence but other countries can. I remember a German report years ago that talked how the presence of a gun can actually change how one thinks. It's a slow process and, for many, can be an addictive process. The NRA is like the cigarette companies; get people hooked. One interesting connection was that when there is a high violence rate people call for capital punishment. In countries with a low violent crime rate removing capital punishment is relatively easy. Yes, I think we agree but sometime communication can often be tricky.

@JackPedigo agrred. Also, the NRA seemed to fundamental change in its mission and tactics, starting in the 1970s. They used to stand for simple advocacy of responsible gun owners. But they became a blatant propaganda tool of the gun manufacturers, to whip up a cult-like, Klan-like paranoia in a certain segment of the population (white) to do anything to support the growth in gun sales. Nothing increases gun sales like paranoia. And it is the same roughly 30% of the population that runs out to buy more after every media-reported incident of a mass shooting. The stand your ground laws are another example of this paranoia, and they absolutely are used to defend whites shooting non-whites. Never the other way around. The manufacturers just want to sell all the guns they can. They Don't care to whom. But there is bald faced racism in their propaganda campaign tactics. Racism and xenophobia and anti-government anger are at the core of the strategy for whipping up the paranoia that fuels gun sales. How otherwise do you sell more guns to people who already have more guns than they can use?