^To go back to the OP, one of the questions was why the US isn’t like other countries and the answer is the Second Amendment. You can’t effectively ban private firearm ownership like the UK without repealing the Second Amendment. Practically speaking, getting a constitutional amendment passed to repeal the Second Amendment isn’t close to being within the realm of the politically possible.
Some criminals may be motivated and skilled enough to get guns even if all legal means are blocked. But others may not be. Indeed, such measures as universal background checks are associated with fewer firearm homicides in states that have them, so there is some effect in limiting legal access to guns for those with criminal history, even if some (not all) of those with criminal history do acquire guns illegally.
I would love to see the Second Amendment reinterpreted to only include well-regulated militias, but that’s not happening either. The gun owners I know fall into two types (with some overlap). Some of them love hunting and many of these really are okay with some restrictions, but fear that people will go overboard once they get started. The others feel they need guns for protection. I think they are mistaken. I know that they only time I was held up (no gun involved), I completely froze. I don’t believe I’d shoot an intruder. I’m not sure if I’ve ever actually shot a gun, but I did used to accompany my Dad on hunting trips. He never shot anything we didn’t eat. He only hunted when we lived in Somalia and he got tired of eating chicken and goat.
Note that in 1967, the NRA, along with both Democrats and Republicans, supported the Mulford Act mostly banning open carry in California, after the Black Panther Party for Self Defense practiced then-legal open carry in a protest.
Here is the study:
https://rockinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/3-28-19-Firearm-Laws-Homicide-Deaths-Brief.pdf
But we can enforce rigorous background checks, require liability insurance, create gun storage rules (and enforce them with random home audits), and require training and periodic retraining.
Didn’t background checks stop a couple of recent shooters. One was stymied in CA and then bought in NV. And another tried to purchase one in IL, couldn’t, and then went to IN to buy his gun(s)? Forgive me if my facts are wrong. This is from memory.
Stop-and-frisk has sometimes been counterproductive, in reducing trust between law abiding citizens and police when the targets of stop and frisk are or appear to be disproportionately of a commonly-discriminated-against minority group, while most of those stopped and frisked were innocent of any crime.
I don’t really care about the parts of “the sociology of gun culture”, if that is even a thing, when it does not affect me. Any more than I care about the sociology of cupcake culture or furry culture.
There are 2 pathologies, that include but are not wholly about guns that concern me, but I don’t think addressing “gun culture” is the path to solving either, or that background checks and registries will help. If anything they may delay help because they will distract us with unproductive activity instead of focusing on the real problems.
1)Urban street crime that results in the murder of many participants in the criminal activity and some innocent bystanders. Because the murders and shootings are the tip of the iceberg, there is property crime and violence in those areas that makes them terrible places to live and try to raise a family.
2) Public mass killings, which often but not always involve guns. Those are mostly about the ego of the killer, not the killing device.
The point is that it is the sociology of your gun culture which permits both those things to occur.
If the black firearm homicide rate were reduced to the white firearm homicide rate, it would go a long way toward reducing the US firearm homicide rate.
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It’s rare that I get a mere 4 pages into a study before I realize it’s flawed. From page 4, under the heading “Understanding the Problem”:
“Examining 345,882 firearm homicides during the period 1997-2016, the average age- adjusted homicide rate across all 50 states during this period was 5.2 per 100,000, but it ranged from a low of 1.4 per 100,000 in New Hampshire to a high of 12.7 per 100,000 in Louisiana.”
A quick check of the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting for the years 1997 - 2016 shows there were only 187,213 total firearm homicides(a difference of 158,669) during that time period. In fact, the total number of homicides in the U.S. from 1997 - 2016 didn’t come close to 345,882.
Take their conclusions with 158,669 grains of salt…
I think a reasonable compromise on gun laws is quite possible and would have happened long ago if not for all the incendiary rhetoric. It might include universal background checks, gun registration and licensing like we do with cars, serious consequences for not complying with gun safety laws, and similar measures.
I’ve always wondered how many of the same people who argue that criminal would get guns anyway can also be strong proponents of maximally restrictive drug laws, drinking age, etc. Seems like it’s significantly easier for a teenager to get an illegal beer than an illegal gun.
The U.S. Department of Justice released a study in January titled Source and Use of Firearms Involved in Crimes: Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016. It paints an interesting picture of where prison inmates acquired their firearms.
https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/suficspi16.pdf#page9
89.9% acquired them somewhere other than a retailer.
Less than 1% acquired them at a gun show.
43.2% acquired them off the street or from the underground market.
Surprisingly, 6.7% passed a background check at an FFL dealer.
I would imagine the gun ownership rate in my town would be at least near 50%, with an even higher per capita rate since many people own multiple weapons. It is for the most part a quiet, peaceful town and most residents feel very safe here. Unfortunately since it is a rural area we have to go other places for shopping, specialist medical services, etc. If you are heading to Birmingham, Memphis, Nashville, Tupelo, etc. then you are going to make sure you have your gun because those places have a much higher violent crime rate. A majority of crime in our town would be property crimes like theft, etc., the other more serious crimes are a much rarer occurrence.
I have enough sense to secure my guns, unfortunately not everyone has common sense.
But that means 93.3% were rejected! Obviously, we need a better universal background check and red flag system.
Also, I’m always leery of the honesty of survey respondents in polls. The 2016 election comes to mind. I’m even more leery of criminals responding to polls, since they’re, well, criminals who probably already lied a lot in life. 
@roycroftmom
I prefer my daughter(and sons) be able to defend themselves, though I hope it never comes to that. Self-reliance has long been an ingrained part of the American culture, you know the old pull yourself up by your bootstraps logic, I would think that goes a long way towards explaining the way we think about guns.
Part of the problem as I see it is that our society has changed, how else can you explain the fact that there is such an increase in these shootings when there hasn’t really been a change in the availability of guns. We need to be looking at the issues present in our current society and figure out how to fix those, otherwise you are only addressing symptoms.
Well, the assault weapons ban was allowed to expire, so actually there are more guns, and more lethal guns, available than ever before. I am neither interested in nor optimistic about solving what you claim to be contributing factors, since as pointed out, every other country in the world also has the very same factors but avoids our level of violence. I think you underestimate how harmful the constant level of violence is to our kids,and our sense of community.
Random comments:
If I lived in a rural area (far from help from a 911 call), I would absolutely own a gun (& know how to use it & store it).
When I hike solo, I carry a can of bear spray. Not for bears. Would I carry a concealed gun instead? IDK. I do have a FOID card, but no gun.
I just don’t get the need to own a weapon that can fire off so very many bullets in such a very short time.
I am concerned about copy-cat crimes. A few years ago, after reading about a series of attacks in Europe using cars or trucks as the weapon, I was worried it would become a “thing” here.