America's Homicide Rate

Then what about Australia. We were colonised by the British. The natives were shot and their lands taken, yet WE arent a gun loving culture..*shrugs*

That caught me off guard as well but then remembered that there are a lot of stupid people in the world and accidental murder happens quite often.

I think the proper term is "Manslaughter" but I knew what the OP meant.

Still very, very different. In Australia, one foreign power pretty much just showed up and assumed control. Australia is also currently sparsely settled compared to North America, and the indigenous population was much smaller and put up very little resistance.

Compare to the US, where the land was fought over by many countries, and the native population was far greater and put up significant military resistance for 200 years. Everything about the North American continent was very hostile to colonial forces.

OK. I can see that. Also, we were a penal colony and as such "colonised" relatively quickly.

I think everyone just needs to admit that after the first twenty plus years of life all anyone wants is something to shoot at.

To add to this think of it this way
DNA
We are by birth the risk takers the early people came over here took a great risk.Try sailing in a boat for 1 or 2 months
The good hunters lived the bad died so their dna was mostly lost.

The people who were good shots lived.Every inch of this country was a fight to get from someone nothing came free to them.

DNA

A lot of the shootings take place in areas that are suppose to be "gun free" or have every restrictions placed on them to prevent this. It doesn't work. Both Oakland and San Fransisco have heavier restrictions one handguns than where I live. But as more regulations have been slapped on people like me who obey the law anyways that gun violence has started to creep over to where I live and as the restrictions get tighter and tighter on me and my law-abiding neighbors more and more of it creeps over here.

Thanks Captian Gun Control...you're my heeeeeero *insert massive sarcasm here*

Yeah when a criminal with a gun sees a "gun free" sign, he doesn't think "oh s*** I better go home."

He just thinks "nice, no one will shoot back."

The homicide rate in North America (4.7 per 100,000) is only slightly higher than the 3.5 of Europe (2010 figures).

The highest rates of murder are in Northern Mexico and the Southern U.S. states where the Mexican drug cartels smuggle their goods across the borders.

Individually:
Mexico - 18 per 100,000
United States - 4.8
Canada - 1.62

Around us the police have started asking people to take NRA stickers out of their windows and to stop advertising that they have guns. The criminals have started targeting the people with guns.

You're not going to like the answer, but, jonnythan is more right than anyone else on here. It is because we can. It is because murder and violence are integral parts of what makes Americans American.

Really? Congratulations, you must be so proud.

I disagree.
In most of the United States the murder rate is no higher than Europe.
The American murder rate is only high along the Mexican border and that has more to do with Mexican drug runners than an American thirst for violence.

Do you have stats for that?

I don't know that I would say proud. But honestly, we have a very violent culture. We have numerous recreational activities that involve guns. Our media revolves around guns. The biggest movies are usually very violent, same with the biggest video game releases. Americans are a violent people. That is just the long and short of it. I don't think there is any particularly deep seated hidden issue behind it, it is just who we are.