US schools haven't seen a mass murder using knives, hunting bows, or cross bows. US school mass murders involve handguns and rifles.
Sharks kill, on average, about as many people as school spree shooters per year. Those deaths to sharks are preventable by offing all the sharks, are we doing that?
Making policies based on outrage is a losing proposition.
I somewhat agree with the similarity, at least for rifles; however, many firearms in the US are legal and definitely not suitable nor intended for hunting. For the record, in the UK there are also rifle clubs and farmers are allowed to have rifles to protect their livestock from wild animals, but both groups get yearly inspections from the police and in general the police will know that you keep guns and therefore keep an eye on you. You have to keep the ammo separate from the guns, and both in locked containers with different keys. Hand guns are completely outlawed because they couldn't be justified in the context of hunting or protecting livestock.
> I've been within 100 yards of a black bear with her cubs. I'm glad I had a pistol at the time. I'm even more glad I had no cause to use it.
True. The wild animals in rural US are much more dangerous than in the UK, and so, like in the UK, there are some good but narrow reasons to own certain kinds of firearm. We seem to agree the issue is mainly guns (especially handguns) in cities. I hope the US can find a solution that keeps both inner city and rural dwellers relatively happy.
I'll grant you, encountering a mother bear near her cubs is not a good scenario. I certainly wouldn't volunteer to be in that situation, but statistically speaking, you were unlikely to be harmed.
It becomes a lot less crazy when you consider that parts of the US still take advantage of guns as protection against wild animals. It becomes a little less crazy when you consider that a lot of people use them as a hobby - target practice (it's part of a few different Olympic sports).
Guns are, practically speaking, no more or less crazy than Bowie knives, hunting bows, cross bows, or any number of other devices purpose built for hunting.
> the elephant in the room is the massive cultural problem the US has with firearms
Yeah, definitely an issue. It's, oddly enough, largely a city vs. country issue. People in the city have no practical use for guns. People who don't have the miles of concrete protecting them from the wilds tend to take a much more practical view on the usefulness of, the need for, tools that can protect them from predators with teeth and claws.
I've been within 100 yards of a black bear with her cubs. I'm glad I had a pistol at the time. I'm even more glad I had no cause to use it.