One big difference between the US and Scandinavia/Western Europe that Bernie keeps missing. [View all]

They have a tiny fraction of the gun violence we have in the US. Has he not noticed that?

On a per capita basis, we have close to 10 times the number of gun deaths per year of Denmark. We currently have about 30,000 gun deaths per year. If we had Denmark levels, we'd be at 3,000 or 4,000. As a point of comparison, the number of Americans killed in Iraq and Afghanistan combined is about 10,000. And that's total since the wars started, not per year.

In my mind, this is a huge blind spot of Bernie's. He's right to point out that we're the only advanced country without universal healthcare. He's right to point out that we have by far the highest rate of incarceration. And that our safety net pales in comparison to Western Europe. And that we lost a lot of lives in pointless wars.

But when it comes to the 30,000 gun deaths per year, he wants us to stop shouting at each other. What? Does he think guns are the only controversial issue? Really? As if health care isn't a controversial issue. Or foreign policy. Or, frankly, everything.

Why not insert a few more lines into his rousing speeches. "We are the only advanced country that doesn't require handguns to be registered" would be a good start. Or "we have 5 to 10 times the number of per capita gun deaths of other advanced countries." Or "parents in England don't have the same worry that their kids are going to be shot."