Your opinion on gun control doesn't matter. There, I said it. Yes, I am aware that not every person who owns a gun commits a crime. Yes, I am aware that you think it is your Second amendment right (even though you are misinterpreting the constitution).

Arming citizens with more guns will not do anything.

Your prayers for the victims, survivors, and families are not going to do anything.

The reason that gun deaths happen so frequently in the U.S. is because guns are so easy to get and so normalized in society. You cannot deny the data and you cannot pretend that other countries with common sense gun laws have not had positive outcomes. It's harder to get your motorcycle license than it is to buy a gun in America, and you're more likely to die in a shooting than in a motorcycle accident.

I've offended you. I'm sorry that I care more about the deaths of innocent people than about you thinking you need to carry around a gun. From working in several of the places that have been targets for previous mass shootings, I can tell you that not only are guns not necessary, but they're a horrible idea.

After having worked in both elementary and middle schools, I personally believe that neither setting is the right place for a gun. In both areas I had kids get a hold of my key-chain and almost spray themselves in the face with pepper spray. I don't even want to think about a child getting a hold of a gun. The same goes for working with those that have intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. I currently work with that population, and I cannot have anything on me without it being grabbed by a resident. If I had a gun, it would honestly be a mess.

If what I'm trying to say isn't enough, maybe facts about America's gun obsession will prove my point.

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When analyzing the uniquely American problem of mass shooting and gun violence, it's important to keep in mind that the U.S. houses less than 5% of the world's population, but also possesses between 35% and 50% of the world's civilian owned guns.

There are about 88 guns for every 100 people in North America, which puts the U.S. far above the rest of the world in terms of gun ownership (demonstrated by the map below).

The graph below demonstrates the relationship between firearm deaths per 100,000 people and gun ownership per 100 people in wealthy countries. The United States far outpaces all countries.

Gun ownership vs. gun deaths, by country

Gun ownership vs. gun deaths, by state

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“America: Land of the free and home of the gun. We are not brave, we are cowards, or we would have done something, anything after Newtown. Instead we did Nothing.” -Jonathan Heatt

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American children are 16 times more likely to be shot dead than in any other wealthy country. The perpetrators? Mostly other children (X).

In the Americas, guns are used in homicide more than in any other continent. They outnumber the national average.

In the U.S. alone, guns are used for a statistically greater number of homicides than across all the Americas.

The chart below demonstrates the fact that 87% of children killed each year in the world's wealthiest countries are done so in America.

The rate of mass shootings has tripled since 2011, and there have been more mass shootings this year than there have been days.

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Misc. Facts

Although many people want you to believe gun violence is a mental health problem, less than 4% of violent acts are committed by those suffering from mental illness (X).

In America, for every gun in the home used in self-defense, there are 11 suicide attempts, 7 assaults or murders, and 4 accidents involving guns in or around a home (X).

In 2011, ten times more people were killed by gunshot in arguments than by civilians trying to stop a crime (X).

A woman in a situation of domestic abuse is five times more likely to be killed if her abuser has access to a gun (X).