This thread will surely be locked at any moment, but until it is...
In these situations, it's easy to look at a particular body of law in isolation and say "Well they have a much more sensible one in country X" without looking at the broader picture, and including a whole host of other factors.
You have to remember that the US was founded by people who had left countries where citizens were generally under a tighter level of social/class/government control. They came to a dangerous place, where they frequently got into violent contact with the natives. We could argue about the morality of colonization all day long, but that's what happened here. And as a result, that was the beginning of a long tradition of people wanting the right to protect themselves.
There are all kinds of opinion polls out there, from any number of agenda-driven takers, but there is no evidence that the majority want an outright ban on guns. There isn’t even consensus on the desirability of banning semi-automatic rifles. I think arguments that the situation is due to a small minority of NRA members controlling politicians are just false.
From the point of view of someone living in a city, you might see no need at all for personal defense. I live in the west, and spend a lot of time in places where law enforcement could not reach hours after being notified, if they could even be called for assistance in the first place. My wife and I have a favorite weekend getaway spot in the mountains about an hour and a half’s drive from our home. A couple of years ago, a man living in that town was killed and mostly eaten by a cougar. Some of you will say that’s because greedy developers keep pushing deeper and deeper into virgin natural territory, but that town has been there for over a hundred years, the population in the area is declining, and there were plenty of Anasazi living there a thousand years ago. There are plenty of bears, rattlesnakes, and other dangers too. At any rate, I carry a gun when I’m hiking there alone, and I will not apologize for that.
To my mind, the issue with all of the recent shootings I’ve looked at (and I haven’t read anything about Portland yet) is that they were perpetrated by dangerously insane people. The mother of the Newtown shooter pleaded with authorities to take control of her son repeatedly, and nothing was done. It’s currently very, very difficult to have someone committed, even with strong evidence that they are likely to act out violently. That’s the problem that needs tackling first.
