US gun culture is 'corrupting the world,' Australia ex-deputy PM says after Okla. slaying

[OneGrassRoot]

35. He specifically said "gun culture."

I agree with his statement in that regard.

There are many things which make up this gun culture -- and not all gun owners necessarily are part of the corrosive, corrupting nature of the violent, dehumanizing, guns-above-all-else (thanks, NRA and gun manufacturers who laugh all the way to the bank), chest-thumping gun culture.

Some legal gun owners have a single handgun because they are afraid of someone in particular -- a domestic violence victim, for example.

Some legal gun owners have a basic rifle because they enjoy -- or need to -- hunt for food for their family.

Some legal gun owners have a rifle because they enjoy going to practice ranges truly for the mere sport of it, like archery.

But we know that many gun owners in the United States now own MANY guns; many high-capacity weapons and a lot of ammo to go with it.

The fear of black helicopters and growth of militias -- and easy access -- is feeding a dangerous gun culture full of people who are not well trained regarding the weapons they own, and who are not always careful to store those weapons properly.

Then there's the equally dangerous aspect of our f*cked up gun culture, imho, in which toys are made to remarkably resemble real guns, and real guns are manufactured to look like toys (Hello Kitty AK-47, anyone?).

People have family pictures taken with their guns. People post pics online of their newest addition and even name their latest "baby."

There is something most definitely decidedly fucked up about our unique gun culture here in my very strong opinion.

Again, not all gun owners feed into this or are part of it, so I'm not going to debate about it here, as I don't know DUers personally and don't know whether or not they feed into this culture or not. Being a gun owner or being an advocate for the Second Amendment doesn't -- to me -- indicate one is automatically part of that culture.

If someone is almost rabid about gun ownership and/or the Second Amendment, then chances are they ARE part of and indeed perpetuating that messed-up culture of guns.