I know this won't be popular, but; it is the MENTAL ILLNESS.

[BlueMTexpat]

86. Good point about mental illness, failure to treat it and our dysfunctional society generally.

But so long as any idiot can freely purchase a gun and carry it anywhere (just WTF does anyone sane need to carry a gun into a movie theater for anyway?), guns will continue to provide easy access to doing harm to multiple others.

I was born and raised in a state (Montana) where many people learn how to use guns properly from the time they are young. I myself have never felt the need for one and absolutely refuse to have one in my home. But I recognize that the overwhelming majority of people I know who do own and use guns do so responsibly. For the most part, they are people who live in rural areas and use guns for hunting or predator control purposes.

As an "urban" dweller now, there is no place for a gun in my lifestyle - indeed in most urban lifestyles, IMO, unless one is a police officer or in a similar occupation. Those who own guns and who live in urban areas are statistically much more likely to be wounded or killed by the same guns that they supposedly bought for "protection" or to accidentally harm or kill someone else - even a family member - who is entirely innocent of any crime whatsoever.