gun madness in America

I suppose it shouldn't be necessary for an appalling tragedy, such as the indiscriminate murder of Amish schoolgirls, to remind us that America makes it insanely easy for its people to own guns. While the God-fearing Bush and his delightful party continue to advocate gun ownership, many Americans fiercely oppose this freedom. According to the Department of Justice, 34,040 people were killed in America by guns in 1996, for example. Of these deaths 14,037 were homicides. Things don't seem to be improving. According to Philadelphia statistics, a handgun in the home is 22 times more likely to kill a family member than an intruder. Each year in the city $128 million is spent caring for victims of gun crime. And so it goes on. America has a horrific murder rate, and most of it is down to guns. Yet the National Rifle Assocation seems to dominate national policy, in spite of strong, and presumably well-founded, protests from law-enforcement organisations. Will this great country, which prides itself on its intellectual achievements, ever see reason? In Britain and Ireland gun ownership is not a possibility for most people, and these countries are a great deal safer as a result. America should outlaw guns from all homes and limit possession to safes in gun clubs. Clearly farmers and a few others should be granted exemptions. Hunters presumably need access to hunting rifles, but if these could be managed through gun clubs or other institutions with secure access, so much the better.