First, let me state one critical fact – EVERY OTHER DEVELOPED COUNTRY ON THE PLANET HAS FIGURED THIS ONE OUT. The United States is the only country with the chronic problem of mass shootings.

A few points:

1. Do we have mental health problems?  Of course, but so does every other country.
2. Do we sell violent video games?  Yes, but so does every other country.
3. Do we have violent television shows and movies?  Yes, but so does every other country.
4. Do we have a breakdown in the family unit?  Yes, but so does every other country.
5. How about churches?  Are our churches shrinking?  Yes, but they are doing the same in other countries.

So what’s the difference? Why do we have such a wrenching problem with mass shootings?  The difference is the omnipresence of guns.

The US is awash in a tsunami of guns that is drowning our country and the lame gun laws we manage to enact are designed to fail to protect our society from people who have no business owning a gun.  As a country, the US is 4.4% of the world’s population, yet we own 42% of the world’s guns.  Let that sink in.  Our homicide rate in the US is over 300% that of the average of the rest of the OECD.

The problem here is obvious.  The solution is simple.  The population of the US is not crazier, or more evil than other countries’ populations.  The only factor that makes our country an outlier  is the overwhelming presence of guns.  Guns can be easily acquired in private sales with no background check.  Guns are trafficked by the millions.  The NRA has successfully stifled research into gun violence, has kept the ATF hamstrung in enforcing existing laws, and has even prevented the electronic tracking of guns from being done.

The real crime here, besides the massive murders of innocents, is that committed by our elected representatives who have taken hundreds of millions of dollars from the NRA and other pro gun industry lobbyists to keep us awash in guns.

That’s the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about.