[user104658]

Originally Posted by Vicky.

Its not that hard in the uk you say...but how often do you hear of a shooting here compared to america?

Well that was actually the point of half of my post... that it's a cultural issue rather than an issue regarding the legality of owning guns. You (almost) never hear about these things happening in the UK, because a very small number of people in the UK own guns. But this isn't because it's illegal to own one. Maybe there's a misconception that it is... I don't know... but it simply isn't, gun ownership (besides handguns) in the UK is perfectly legal and obtaining a license isn't a difficult process (for those without a criminal record)... and yet, not many UK households do so compared to the US. That is why making firearm ownership illegal in the US wouldn't "fix" the issue... because legal ownership isn't the issue in the first place. "High School Massacres" are a cultural phenomenon unique to the US in their frequency, and would continue to be so even if every single civilian-owned firearm in the entire country was seized and destroyed. The firearm is the tool... a tool that is available in countless other countries that don't have this problem... the *problem* is the mindset.