the number of people killed by guns is much higher in the US than it is in the rest of the civilized world, so what can/should we do about it?

To put this in perspective: I own guns, always have, but I am FOR a much higher standard for gun ownership. Semi-auto rifles using military caliber ammo should be regulated just below full-auto weapons, and be just about as difficult to obtain (though certainly not as expensive.)

THAT SAID: these rifles have been around a long time, whereas mass shootings used to be unheard of. Prior to the 80s there were only a small handful of mass shootings, then shit started cooking off.

Something has changed in the minds of the American people. Something has caused some people to think it would be a good idea to murder a lot of people at once. WHY? What's going on? What's different today than, say, 1970 in this regard?

I support making it difficult (but NOT impossible) for qualified individuals to own so-called "assault weapons," but the weapons are only one part of the problem and NOT the major part of the problem. Fucked up human beings are the problem---the question is, what fucked them up and how can we weed them out before they live out their sick fantasies?