Lets look at gun control as oppose to the top reason, income inequality.

[NightDragon83]

Both are bullshit excuses for violence. Allow me to point out the fact that the young males who carried out the horrific mass shootings at Columbine, Aurora, Sandy hook etc. all came from middle to upper middle class families, and weren't exactly hurting financially (the mother of the Sandy Hook shooter was collecting something like $250k a year from her ex-husband for example).

People who don't have an income problem aren't necessarily less likely to go shoot up a mall or school than people who are considered "poor" in this country. In fact, go back and look at all the mass shootings in the US over the past 20 years or so, and tell me how many of those shooters were living in trailer parks or basically one step from being a bum on the street.

Gun control, or lack thereof, isn't the reason for all of this violence in America either. In fact, the cities and states with the strictest gun laws are the ones with the most shootings / murders every year. Right now all the pro-gun control advocates want to go back to the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994-2004, as well as instate other laws regarding gun control. Let me point out that since the early 90s, the overall violent crime rate has dropped significantly in this country, and the number of homicides by gun each year has dropped to HALF of what it was approx 20 years ago. This despite the fact that the Assault Weapons Ban was allowed to expire (not that it did much good in preventing tragedies like Columbine and the D.C. sniper shootings among others while it was in place), and that overall gun sales are through the roof compared to 20 years ago.

What we need in this country are stricter requirements for gun ownership and better training. Basically we should treat guns at the very least the same way we treat cars... not everyone is allowed to get behind the wheel of a vehicle, nor do you simply have to pass a quick background check and wait a few weeks to acquire a driver's license (unless you're an illegal, but that's another topic entirely). You have to prove through several instructor sessions as well as a final test that you can properly and competently operate a motor vehicle. Same thing should be done with guns.