Americans confuse the -right- to bear arms with -I want to bear arms anytime and anywhere, even when it's stupid and unnecessary to do so-. Just because you -can- own a gun doesn't mean you need to have an arsenal or arm your kids, and you don't need everybody wandering around with a conceal and carry; it's just asking for trouble, especially when piled onto all of the other cultural problems.
Gun advocates will often (and rightly) claim that guns don't kill people; people kill people. If it wasn't guns, it would be something else; knives, rocks, fists, whatever. The problem isn't the guns, it's the culture behind them. Other countries have higher rates of gun ownership, but far less crimes committed with guns, or, in this particular case, tragic accidents with guns.
My neighbour is a professional hunting guide. I don't know how many guns he's got, but it's quite a few. I feel no danger at all from him. Why? Because he is trained in their proper use and storage, and because he's responsible and smart. Put those same guns in the hands of your average American, and I no longer would feel safe at all because the average American is far more likely to do something stupid or illegal with those same guns. They need some sort of paradigm shift to occur in their thinking, but I don't think it will happen for at least a few generations; probably after I'm dead. (and hopefully not due to being shot by an American angry at this post... :p )
