Pearl Jam had this right in Glorified G's lyrics: "Don't think, dumb is strength Never shot at a living thing Glorified version of a pellet gun Feels so manly,

Pearl Jam had this right in Glorified G's lyrics: "Don't think, dumb is strength Never shot at a living thing Glorified version of a pellet gun Feels so manly, when armed" The problem is a lot of people feel that being able to fire a gun validates their masculinity or -in the case of women- their tough image, without first realizing that guns were developed first and foremost to kill other people, not making paper silhouettes go pop at 20 feet. I've been firing guns since I was... I don't know, 6? I fired my first shotgun at age 10 or so. I was taught guns were hunting weapons, and encouraged from an early age to skin and clean the animals we hunted. It's much easier to appreciate the mess a gunshot makes when you have to dissect the animal to extract the pellets. Starting at certain age I was told to eat whatever I killed, so no more killing animals just because they were within range. Being able to fire a gun stopped feeling like something glamorous and became just what it should be: a useful skill in case I ever needed it. I guess what I'm trying to say is: take the glamour out of having guns, make them as expensive as they should be through taxation (after all, how many machines capable of killing a man can you need in a household?) and the issue of overarming should fix itself out. Can't say whether that would fix the mental issues associated with the super individualistic American society though :/