Thoughts On "Bowling For Columbine"

Of course the sad thing is that the USA has developed a gun culture and once that is the case then the argument(pro and anti ) is a very complicated one.
Living here in the UK I am very glad that guns either used in violence (although growing)is still relatively rare and that our police do not carry guns.
I think from reading what I've read above it's clear that American society is the poorer for the development of such a culture..............

Lugnut, nice discourse. Ben, we are both richer and poorer in different ways from every other culture -- like our hobby, there is no best. Rather, there are trade-offs and things we have to bear (at least in the short run). America's culture is relatively new and relatively immature. Plus, we are in a place where gun control is virtually impossible even were it wanted. As Lugnut suggests, it is difficult to separate causes from both good and bad effects so violence is a difficult problem to address. We would all prefer that some sub-cultures (e.g., gangs) not exist, but we are not willing to bear the cost of doing so (i.e., to our fundamental freedoms and via higher taxes). I'm optimistic so believe that, over time, many various components will come together to provide us with a less violent set of social trade-offs.

What's a "gun culture?"

Ivanj- read the threads-however if you really need me to explain-in simple terms owning a gun,guns being used in violence,guns being relatively easy to legally own and reasonably cheap to buy,a police force that requires to be armed,accidents involving guns,people who feel the need to defend themselves with guns,youths with guns,massacres with guns-none of which are unique to America but sadly much more common than arguably anywhere else in the world.
Guns are part of American culture.

I would be most interested in hearing a perspective from Thedautch since he is a politics/policy guy living in Washington, D.C. which happens to have the most restrictive gun laws in the entire country. Am I correct that D.C. still enjoys the distinction of being the most gun violent city in the country? Do the citizens of D.C. feel safer now with all the gun contol than they did prior to the newer restrictions?

These are honest questions coming from one who lives 2,000 miles away from the nations capital without benefit of being able to ask acquaintances.