"I'm certain any study of the dangers of violent games when compared to the dangers of easy access to guns will reveal that the former cannot at all compete with the latter."

http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog…

Just as video games cannot cause a person to become violent, guns are also inanimate objects. The problem lies not in the availability of guns, but within our culture.

@1 It helps to actually analyze the statistics.

http://wtkr.com/2013/09/20/strong-correl…

@1: The availability of guns provides impetus to suicide and crimes of passion.

@2,3,

Both true, but there is an interesting point in what @1 says though.

Yes, the availability of guns means there will be more gun deaths. Eliminating the availability would reduce/remove the deaths... it would do nothing; however, to eliminate the intent.

Not taking sides, just pointing out that taking away an arsonist's matches doesn't mean they lose the desire to burn things. That intent is still a problem, even without matches.

Too lazy to look it up and verify, but I believe Canada has a similarly high gun ownership rate to the US but a gun violence rate that is much lower like Europe.

To me the entire gun debate is asinine. Neither regulating guns or promoting their safe use to more "good guys" will rid our culture of its social pathologies that lead not only to gun violence but myriad other problems.

@4: unrealized intent is not a problem. turning intent into action is what firearms facilitate so well. action is a problem.

does anyone assert that America just has more murderous INTENT than Canada or Europe? more folks that need killin', or more folks on the verge of suicide? if we do, then @1 has a point. otherwise, it's just more deflection.

more guns = more shootin'. period.

@7,
Actually, I DO think the U.S. has more murderous intent/suicidal ideation than Canada or Europe (though I admit I have no proof or evidence of that whatsoever... just anecdotal belief, and therefore not really meaningful other than my personal feelings).

But how can you say unrealized intent is not a problem? Someone walking around with intent to kill a person is most definitely a problem; whether they find the means to kill or not.

@7 America has only a slightly higher murderous intent than Europe, actually. People like to compare the amount of gun murders in America to the amount of gun murders inEuropean countries to make it seem as though America is just an incredibly violent place and that guns are to blame. But when you compare the total murder rates of, let's say the UK, to the US, you'll see that the numbers are fairly similar, albeit with America slightly in the lead. People still kill people in Europe. They just do it with other tools.