On another thread Joe Offer, seemingly a very rational man, gave some figures on gun ownership in the USA.

"While I don't like the popularity of personal handguns in the US, I don't think they are as universally present as one might think. One Website says:The report revealed that 11.1 million Americans hold concealed carry permits (in 2014) up from an estimated 4.6 million in 2007.
Three states (South Dakota, Indiana, and Alabama) now have over 10 percent of their adult populations with permits, and 10 states have at least 8 percent of their adult populations with permits.

I think Joe is being a little disingenuous and perhaps trying to indicate that gun ownership is not as widespread as we in the UK perceive it. He quotes "concealed carry permits" which is not quite the same as gun licences. According to one survey (Gallup 2011)some 47% of Americans report they have a gun at home or on their premises. Therefor something like 147,000,000 people have SOME access to a gun.

Is it any wonder then that gun crime and the terrible massacres that occur are as frequent as they are.

Please discuss