In light of the mass shooting in Umpqua, Oregon earlier this month, President Obama 's sobering remarks made a crucial point about the nature of Gun Violence in the United States. He remarked, "Somehow this has become routine. The reporting is routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it ... We have become numb to this." As of this day, the United States has a little over one mass shooting every day. It occurs so frequently that people go back to their regular lives after the heavy media coverage is over, only to be outraged once it happens again a week or a month later. Consequently, this problem and the general public sentiment about it has become a stain on the face of this…show more content… The US has nearly six times the number of gun homicides as Canada, more than seven times as Sweden, and nearly 16 times as Germany” (Lopez 1). The juxtaposition of the number of gun homicides in America with other Western nations, Lopez shows how uncommon this is amongst countries similar to our own. Following the church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, President Obama remarks that the American people would “have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other developed countries” (LoGiurato 1). So if this is a trend shared by all developed nations, then what makes America different?
America is a country, to put it frankly, that loves its guns. The right to bear arms is one solidified by this nation’s constitution, and many American’s exercise that right boldly. Just how many guns are available to Americans today? The ATF stated that as of 2009, the estimated total number of firearms available to U.S citizens was approximately 310 million: 114 million handguns, 110 million rifles, and 86 million shotguns (Krouse 1). With the US population currently at a little over 300 million people, this means that there is a gun for nearly every man, woman and child in our country. So there are a staggering number of guns in America, but what does this suggest? To reach a meaningful conclusion with this data, we must once again