Mass shooting in Buffalo NY.

I mean, I think part of the issue is that any time anyone brings up the idea that there are cultural reasons that contribute to the homicide rates and mass killings, they tend to get shouted down by constant posts about how it's all about the guns and we have to ban guns which IMO, isn't productive because it won't happen and possibly is less of an issue than the nature of America and American culture. (Not aimed at you as I think you, as always, are willing to reasonably discuss all sides of any issue.) We even get drive by posts from people who are normally very good posters taking cheap shots about how they wouldn't care about any of the nuances if a family member of theirs was shot dead.

And, yes, a major part of that problem is rooted in racism and white supremacy which is unfortunately, at the core of a lot of American culture (and other cultures to be fair). I get why people react like that to any suggestion that we need to focus on root causes of the violence, not the method used for the violence, in that those ideas have often been used as a sword in the political debate by those with a vested interest in no regulation of gun ownership. But, not everyone who discusses those things is being disingenuous or taking a political position.

I agree... I don't even consider myself a major gun control guy (I consider myself to be in the soft majority that favors it) but if I were starting a country from scratch, I'd do things like requiring training on an ongoing basis, insurance, licensing, and tracking of ammunition (basically if a bullet you bought gets used in a crime, you have some liability). Basically, I'd treat guns a lot more like cars (I'd argue that in modern day America a car is more essential to your rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness than a gun). But I don't think most of those will pass constitutional muster.

I'm also an "AND" guy, not an "OR" guy. I think guns need to be harder to get and more expensive with some way of tracking the bullets used in the commission of a crime. And I think we need to work on controlling the motivations for violence. Solving those would make life better in very tangible ways.