Sure, its not ALL about guns. There are lots of other reasons too, and there have always been guns. But its still mostly about guns. Nothing we do to reduce or control the number of guns is going to stop this, and people will always be able to get a hold of guns, no matter what laws and regulations you have. But the indisputable and inevitable fact remains, the more guns there are available in the society the more likely this sort of thing is to happen, the more frequently it will happen, and the more deadly each incident is likely to be. It is simple statistics. It really is that simple.

So do we arm more people so they can "shoot back"? Well, that's what the NRA is doing now, and it clearly is not working. This happened in Texas, where gun ownership is common, even encouraged, and no one shot back and stopped the carnage. In the end, the suspect did not even fall to police bullets. Nationally, the more guns are available to the public, the more often these incidents occur, and the deadlier they are. And as more and more guns flood the nation and become more widespread, the more shootings will occur, the more people will die. Maybe some bad guys will occasionally be stopped by good guys with guns, but the aggressor always has the element of surprise. There will always be more deaths caused by bad guys than by good guys stopping bad guys. It really is that simple.

Guns are like cars. The more cars you have, the more people will get killed in accidents. You can license cars and drivers, you can build them safer, you can plan roads and traffic and pass laws so accidents are less likely and less severe. But the more cars you have, the more accessible they are to the public, the more people will die from simple accidents. Its statistical reality. It is inevitable and undeniable.

But we are willing to put up with the risk because at least cars provide a useful purpose. Guns have only one purpose.