Well, it appears that it wasn0't even an american but a south korean student - whaddya think about that ?
They need to get their weapons law under control - the days of the wild west are over. Why on earth should normal citizens own a gun ? Why should it be so easy to get an instrument which only purpose is to kill humans ?
I agree with the general idea of curbing gun ownership. The NRA (National Rifle Association) would tell you that the instrument in question is NOT necessarily to kill humans, but to hunt game (yeah right). There's also some weird ol' passage in the US constitution about the right to bear arms and in order to change the constitution, it takes quite a bit.
Interestingly, in Switzerland, as you know Freddie, every man who's done his military duty (your 'normal' citizen so to speak because it's compulsory for every man) keeps his rifle at home with a specified number of rounds. He then takes this rifle to a shooting range on a more or less regular basis and practices his shooting skills. Officers get to keep their army pistol as well.
So, in Switzerland we have PLENTY of arms lying around, too. Guess what, homicide rate is way lower than in the US. So, it's not just the guns. Guns don't kill - people do! However, Switzerland has one of the worldwide highest suicide rates and just the other week a study linked this fact to the easy availability of arms, especially during or after domestic disputes, etc. Go figure...
