Last year there were more mass shootings - defined as four or more killed or injured - in the US than days in the year.
And all because the "right to bear arms" is enshrined in the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, so anyone of any age - yes, they make specially sized and selectively coloured guns for kiddies, too - can buy and tote the weapon of their choice, freely.
This constitutional principle, adopted back in a time when the predominantly-European settlers were busy slaughtering the Native Americans to conquer the land from coast to coast and fighting off foreign claimants to boot, may have made sense then, but is merely a dangerous anachronism now. One an inordinate number of Americans somehow have fooled themselves, or been fooled, into thinking is a good thing. To the point groups of "good ole boys" roam the streets fully-laden with more firepower than your average soldier to assert their right to "openly carry" their machineguns and assault rifles which they claim, in ignorance of parody, are purely for defence.
Wonder how they'd react to a group of Muslim-Americans, or African-Americans, wandering so-armed through their towns and stores; and how many on each side might be left standing.
Doubtless the gun-culture that dominates much American thinking is the reason the US, with its organised citizen's militia (the National Guard) as well as the full might of its serving police and armed forces, has long been a de facto police state.
But the rise of organised vigilantism and self-interest militia, such as the group led by Ammon Bundy that has taken over a national wildlife refuge in Oregon, is threatening to expose the deepest rifts in the American psyche and let the secret out: that the US is a nation of killers, needing only excuse to slay.
Think that's harsh? The US military budget trumps the next seven nations combined, and only a handful of years since the US was formed in 1776 has it not been at war with someone somewhere.
Profit is of course the underlying motive, at home and abroad; US weaponry can be found on every side of every war around the globe - an estimated 70 per cent of weapons in the hands of ISIS are American-manufactured.
President Obama's mild requirements - that every gun-dealer should be registered, and buyers undergo background checks - seem common sense to kiwis astounded anyone could make a business selling guns without a licence, yet are an "affront to liberty" to hear Republicans or the NRA tell it. Those demanding our police be routinely armed should pause to reflect where that may lead. Bad enough we adopt their fast-food habits; let's try to avoid the fast-draw ones too, eh?
That's the right of it.
-Bruce Bisset is a freelance writer and poet.
