Tom,
I would not be presumptuous enough to assume I've got it figured out. There are some in this thread who think they do have it figured out. That's very arrogant. I've yet to see a post linking to a medical/scientific study that has examined the rise in these violent acts and linked them to certain causes. .
You are certainly free to reread my posts. I think several of us have been making the point that there is a scientific correlation in all of these mass shootings. (Hint: The perpetrators are all deranged.) So I guess that makes me arrogant... So be it. But if you need a study to accept that:
A meta-analysis of 204 studies of psychosis as a risk factor for violence reported that “compared with individuals with no mental disorders, people with psychosis seem to be at a substantially elevated risk for violence.” Psychosis “was significantly associated with a 49%–68% increase in the odds of violence.”
Douglas KS, Guy LS, Hart SD. Psychosis as a risk factor for violence to others: a meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin 2009;135:679–706.
Below is the study I referenced earlier for your reading pleasure as to the media impact on shooters. Also are some interesting facts you are certainly free to research and dispute.
http://www.rit.edu/cla/cpsi/WorkingPapers/2009/2009-11.pdf
As far as research data on gun ownership and crime, as noted earlier, overall violent crime is down in spite of increased lawful gun ownership.
FBI — Violent Crime
There is no correlation between gun ownership and violent crime, showing a negative correlation: as gun ownership increases, murder and suicide decreases.
The findings of two criminologists - Prof. Don Kates and Prof. Gary Mauser - in their study of American and European gun laws and violence rates, are telling: Areas with the most stringent gun laws also have the highest violence.
http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jlpp/Vol30_No2_KatesMauseronline.pdf
Just how well have gun bans worked in other countries? Take the number of home break-ins while residents are present as an indication. In Canada and Britain, both with tough gun-control laws, nearly half of all burglaries occur when residents are present. But in the U.S. where many households are armed, only about 13% happen when someone is home. So apparently the fear of an armed encounter is a strong deterrent to home crime. Here’s a study.
Crime, Deterrence, and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns
Newsweek has reported that law-abiding American citizens using guns in self-defense during 2003 shot and killed two and one-half times as many criminals as police did, and with fewer than one-fifth as many incidents as police where an innocent person mistakenly identified as a criminal (2% versus 11%).
I also referenced research on the effect of certain psychometric drug on violent behavior.
Fact: Despite 22 international drug regulatory warnings on psychiatric drugs citing effects of mania, hostility, violence and even homicidal ideation, and dozens of high profile shootings/killings tied to psychiatric drug use, there has yet to be a federal investigation on the link between psychiatric drugs and acts of senseless violence.
Fact: At least fourteen school shootings were committed by those taking or withdrawing from psychiatric drugs resulting in 109 wounded and 58 killed (in other school shootings, information about their drug use was never made public—neither confirming or refuting if they were under the influence of prescribed drugs.)
Fact: Between 2004 and 2011, there have been over 11,000 reports to the U.S. FDA’s MedWatch system of psychiatric drug side effects related to violence. These include 300 cases of homicide, nearly 3,000 cases of mania and over 7,000 cases of aggression. Note: By the FDA’s own admission, only 1-10% of side effects are ever reported to the FDA, so the actual number of side effects occurring is most certainly higher.
I was in the Army for thirty years. I've had my fill of hunting, hiking, camping, helicopter rides, parachuting and yes guns. I don’t care for them at all. Perhaps that's why I prefer cars and sailing these days. Until two years ago, I never wanted a gun in my home but I now own one (that has never even been loaded, much less fired) simply to assert my right to do so. There is a significant group of gun control supporters that have the only goal of banning all private ownership of firearms. This final rationale is rooted in the belief that the average U.S. citizen cannot be trusted on a variety of issues and especially gun ownership. Furthermore, this group does not believe the average citizen is smart enough to be responsible for themselves. Thus, only the government and a select few elitists of political influence should have a right to self-defense. (See earlier post on media hyprocacy) This is where I personally have drawn the line.
Do I have all the answers??? - Of course not. But I have a high degree of certainty that taking homicidal maniacs off the streets would leave the country safer than passing unenforceable laws that would only affect law abiding citizens. Given the numbers of felons that commit weapons crimes, it is readily apparent that current laws are not being enforced.
I am equally certain that if every parent were to actively involve themselves in their children’s activities online viewing, social interactions, schoolwork and gaming and intercedes before the kid goes off the rails (versus turning him into an over-medicated zombie simply to ease their parenting) we would see better success at preventing horrors such as the most recent school shooting than having the government passing ineffectual laws to hunt down weapons with bayonet lugs and other such “offensive characteristics”.