Wdpeck-perhaps you mean there were no fewer guns per capita?That is possible, although I wouldn’t be surprised if it had climbed at least some- regardless, it is nearly three times higher than other western democracies like Canada, Germany, and Switzerland. But US gun-death rates run almost 20 times higher than the average for the other most developed/richest countries.
There were certainly less guns around than the nearly 300 million in the US today. More particularly, there were a LOT fewer assault rifles and large capacity clips – both of which seem to be key ingredients in incidents like Newtown and Aurora. Being able to get a lot of rounds off quick is absolutely key in these events – the shooters unload 30+ or 50+ rounds in a minute or so, that’s a lot of damage, that’s a lot of no-chance to respond, or run, or charge, or get one’s bearings for those attacked. Newtown, Aurora, Virginia Tech, Columbine, all were over in minutes – before an armed guard and a school constable in Columbine could respond effectively, even with armed potential defenders in the building. Police in Newtown were on scene in about five minutes – the damage was already done.
Wdpeck-perhaps you mean there were no fewer guns per capita?That is possible, although I wouldn’t be surprised if it had climbed at least some- regardless, it is nearly three times higher than other western democracies like Canada, Germany, and Switzerland. But US gun-death rates run almost 20 times higher than the average for the other most developed/richest countries.
There were certainly less guns around than the nearly 300 million in the US today. More particularly, there were a LOT fewer assault rifles and large capacity clips – both of which seem to be key ingredients in incidents like Newtown and Aurora. Being able to get a lot of rounds off quick is absolutely key in these events – the shooters unload 30+ or 50+ rounds in a minute or so, that’s a lot of damage, that’s a lot of no-chance to respond, or run, or charge, or get one’s bearings for those attacked. Newtown, Aurora, Virginia Tech, Columbine, all were over in minutes – before an armed guard and a school constable in Columbine could respond effectively, even with armed potential defenders in the building. Police in Newtown were on scene in about five minutes – the damage was already done.