I have been researching gun violence and its prevention for more than 25 years, and much as I accept Jonathan Freedland’s analysis of the deep structures, party politics and ideological delusions that sustain this gun culture (America, how long will you sacrifice your children on the altar of gun worship?, 27 May), I often feel that there’s a mismatch between problems and responses.
After all, America has three gun violence problems. In order of victim magnitude these are: gun suicides, some 60% of all shooting deaths, mainly white middle-aged men; gun homicides, as many as 18,000 victims a year, disproportionately young African-American men; and mass shootings, producing around 1% of annual gun homicide victims.
