No, I don't think you guys understand my point.

Canadians probably own just as many guns, probably more, then Americans. But how many gun related deaths are there in Canada compared to the US? I bet the ratio is like 1:10. I'm not against having guns; Obviously if you have something of serious value that you feel rationally concludes you owning a gun to protect, then by all means go for it. But the root of the gun problem lies in American culture; face it, this country was basically built on violence. From the British wars, to the Indians, to the Mexican War, and everything else, you have to admit that America is a very trigger happy country. The rest of the world looks at America as the "Shoot first, ask questions later" people. And that's what we do! Look at Iraq: We shoot first, and then ask questions later. And the rest is history.

And then there's the problem of American media, instilling fear into the average joe every single opportunity it can. Everyday you hear on the radio and local news: x number of people shot, or y number of people sexually raped etc. At every chance it gets, the media will paint a picture of fear that serves two purposes: to "grab you" to keep watching their station so they can get more advertising dollars, and to push those advertisements onto you so that you can go out and consume because of that fear. I can't find the official statistic, but I heard that after 9/11, the security industry saw a HUGE increase in sales of everything, from guns, bulletproof vests, security systems, trap doors, even armored vehicles for crying out loud. And even more surprising was that most of the people doing the buying were in suburban areas (where there is usually less crime) or people who would have never otherwise owned a gun in their lives.

So you guys do the math: A bunch of paranoid, fear driven citizens + easy access to guns = ?

(Hint: it's kind of like drinking and driving, not a good combination)