Here are two graphical representations of data related to guns in the U.S.: In the above, you'll see that the biggest American issue with gun-related deaths are suicides , with the biggest at-risk demo being non-Hispanic white rural males aged 65+ with a history of military service and ownership of more than one gun (and at least one handgun). Do you know anyone who fits that demo? I certainly do. In this demo, you can make an argument for mental illness being a factor if one considers a mood disorder (esp. if you want to get historical and look at involutional depression , although that label it a bit of a dusty relic), but it's just one of many factors at play in suicide. " But we're not talking about suicide, you insensitive fuck ," you might be thinking right now. " We're talking about little boys and girls shredded into bags of lifeless meat by a murder with over 1K rounds of ammo at his disposal ," you vehemently hiss in my general direction,