Americans And Guns: The Shots Heard Round The World

guardian.co.uk — The United States is not the only country in the world to have been brought to a juddering, weeping standstill by a mass shooting, as happened this weekend. Where America really is different, however, is in three things. The first is the increasing commonness of shooting sprees. The second difference is the exceptionally dangerous weaponry to which Americans have easy access. The final difference is in many ways the most destructive of all. This is America's sheer difficulty in conducting any kind of rational collective conversation about gun control. In any other country, a shooting spree of the sort that took place in Newtown would set off a serious public debate. The fault for this lies overwhelmingly with the U.S. gun lobby.

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