The fact that the mainstream media only presents one side's anecdotes is both honest and relevant. Sammy's highlight of that fact is valid. His anecdotes don't prove the value of gun ownership, although if you insist on that you're pretty well on the hook to admit that gun control anecdotes such as Sandy Hook don't prove the value of gun control.
I don't think they do.
I think that having too many guns available will result in more gun crime by the numbers game.
10 guns on the street mean ten people can harm people, 100 guns on the street mean 100 people can harm people.
Yes knives can also kill and so can bare hands, but by virtue of ease, distance and multiple shots fired in rapid succession, I deem guns more dangerous than many other means.
I think swords should be banned too, except for in regulated use by martial artists or the army/police (and people who hunt with swords possibly too) because they can more easily kill people than knives. Also knives are used at home to cut things so it's hard in my mind to ban those.
Guns serve a purpose to defend oneself and I understand that, but I think that they need to be very restricted to people who can actually use them and are sure to make them safe. I do not know enough about the current laws in the US, but I do know these restrictions need to be quite strict and should include many classes in the usage of them as well as the mental state of the buyer (why does he/she need a gun ?)
I do understand that people in the US think that the government might turn on them and while this is unlikely, I think people can think what they want. The problem comes when a child can get a hold of a gun, or in this case a 20-year old or so manages to get a gun from his mother. Some things need to be reviewed, don't you think ? What happened ? How could that person get ahold of someone else's gun ? Was it badly secured ? Do people need to be audited for guns, just like for taxes maybe, with periodic checks that the guns are safely locked away ? Is it worth having the right to own automatic weapons ? I am not saying they shouldn't do this or should do this, but the point is that Americans should pose these questions and more to themselves and find answers they are comfortable with.
Yes, yes, criminals can get ahold of guns, just as they can get drugs. That's not the point. Does that mean that we should just stop having police officers in the US since they can't stop all crimes ? No, of course not, but they help. Just as good gun control could help the situation with guns.
I hope all of this made sense.