Banning guns has had next-to-zero influence on the overall homicide rate of the U.K or Australia post-handgun bans/buybacks. [0] [1] [2] People continue to kill other people using other methods. Homicides with firearms goes down, homicides in general remains more or less the same, with the same downward trend that has been happening in all developed nations since the early 2000's/late 1990's.
IMO, America has a mental health problem. Nobody seeks help because help likely means loss of job/income which is disastrous for most everyone. I think there are other contributing factors (income inequality, mainstream/mass media fanning the flames for racial tensions, increasing distrust of the police) but none as large as mental health.
[0] http://i.imgur.com/HZ15hNX.png - Australia
[1] http://i.imgur.com/VxQ0fUN.png - England/Wales
[2] http://i.imgur.com/yabFAFf.png - U.K
> Omar Mateen: In the name of God the Merciful, the beneficent [said in Arabic]
> OD: What?
> OM: Praise be to God, and prayers as well as peace be upon the prophet of God [said in Arabic]. I wanna let you know, I’m in Orlando and I did the shootings.
> OD: What’s your name?
> OM: My name is I pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of the Islamic State.
How is the above "not a terrorist attack in the commonly used sense"? He's using violence against civilians as a means of demanding political action.
I know it's hard to swallow, but Muslims can commit heinous acts for completely personal reasons - a jealous closet gay in this case.
Going by the former, it was not - the attack was basically homophobic in nature, perpetrated by a closet homosexual who frequented that same gay bar and had no contact whatsoever with the Muslim community.
I'm a Muslim myself btw.
That has not happened.
The fact that the homicide rate is lower than it was doesn't mean it's at an acceptable level. Now I don't know whether or not gun control is the solution, but the issue needs to be discussed and not dismissed because with "because history".