> Of course, this isn't an academic exercise. Nobody will be surprised to learn that there is political motivation behind these attempts to demonstrate that the

> Of course, this isn't an academic exercise. Nobody will be surprised to learn that there is political motivation behind these attempts to demonstrate that the United States doesn't have horrendous incidences of mass shootings and other gun crimes. If the United States has levels of gun violence comparable with the rest of the world, there is certainly no need for gun-safety legislation. Nobody will be surprised to learn that there is a political motivation behind attempts to demostrate that the United States has more horrendous incidences of mass shootings and other gun crimes than other countries, as well. There's a difference I think. The people behind the first cause are motivated by a desire to protect their individual liberties. While the people behind the second cause are motivated by a desire to enhance and protect their unlimited power over everyone else. Gun control debates are irrelevant. You could make a very convincing argument that guns cause all of the violence in the world (untrue), and even if that were right you'd never convince anyone to give up the only thing that equalizes their might to that of someone who is hostile toward them. Especially when your argument is based entirely on the actions of "Other People".