The NRA isn't really the problem, but it's indicative of the gun culture. Puff, you asked me what the gun culture is. Well, duh. In the States there are businesswomen that after work go to the shooting range and shoot guns as if they're ordering takeout. There is no Western country that has embraced firearms as part of their "culture" like the States.
And where it gets tricky is when the government allowes any John Dick to walk in a gun store and just buy a weapon with minimal ID. Now the NRA can cry foul, but the NRA is made up of gun enthusiasts that know guns and are often enough responsible with them. The problem is the people who aren't responsible with them. They are the danger. They are the folks that leave firearms in an unlocked dresser for the 16 year old son to sneak to school. Now there are plenty of things people use unresponsibly that can cause serious problems, but practically anything you can think of has some type of function in everyday life.
I mean, someone who is irresponsible with a car is dangerous too, of course. But a car is a means of transport. Getting from A to B. A gun is a means to kill. You move your index finger and 10 grams of lead flies towards whatever you're aiming at. A gun has no day-to-day usefulness. Let's be honest here, if you run the risk to get robbed, shot, beat, raped every fucking day , you need to move or find a new profession. A gun is a not a toy, a gun is not a means to relax. A gun is something you use to take life.
And when a government makes such things readily available to the public, for whatever dated reason (as if those couple of Glocks and hunting rifles will stop the military should there be a coup or whatever), somehow I can not help but think that is a very bad idea. And when that is supported by the immense amount of gun-related crimes and accidents that happen in the United States as opposed to the rest of the Western world, I'm just very glad I don't live there.
And as long as the States as a country, as a society do not recognize this problem, things like Columbine, Virginia Tech will continue to happen. It will not cease. Nutjobs are everywhere, but when you give the nutjob easy access to a gun you're being an idiotic government.
The only thing I am really curious for....let's say you (Jokerman, Puff, whoever defends the gun culture in this thread) are 42 years old. You have a good job, a loving family and you're thrilled that your eldest son is accepted into his university of choice. On his last week in high school, the school loser, the kid that always used to get bullied, walks into the lobby with a shotgun and shoots and kills 10 students, one of which your son...
I would like to see if you're still waving your flags and screaming "freedom to shoot" then.