It's apparent gun culture is one of the worst things about American society in my opinion. There is simply no need for everyone to own multiple weapons as if they need to fend off some kind of domestic invasion. It's completely unneccessary, and as a Brit really quite disturbing. I don't like the idea that if I pissed off the wrong guy I could have an impromtu smalltown militia chasing me down the street, and of course there is always the very real risk that a mentally unstable individual could get their hands on a weapon which ultimately is designed for no other purpose then to kill. Hence the far, far greater proportions of university/school massacres in the U.S then in Europe or probably anywhere else in the world. I think people who have such a burning desire to own a weapon are probably on average more likely to have some kind of psychological flaw as it is, either some kind of paranoia, or poor self-esteem that requires some level of compensation.
Allowing people to easily own these objects of murder is simply encouraging justice to be brought into the hands of the individual, and socially probably contributes towards the whole extreme individualistic, far-right, anti-government attitude displayed in much of rural America.
And as for the whole ''I have a right to a gun and you can't take that away from me'' argument, I think that's absurd. It's designed to kill, they get into the hands of criminals and psychopaths, and ultimately the average person has no need for them. People are safer and better off without such a proliferation of guns. Yes people have a right to freedom, but freedom can be taken too far, and has to be balanced against the equally or more important rights of life and security.
