&gt; But why is it that of all the nations in the civilized world only in the US do the nutjobs go on armed rampages?<p>I was not aware that Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Germany, and company were part of the United States.<p>&gt; Why is the origin of nutcases shooting with firearms taken as a given? In the article their existence is taken as an accepted fact; it just talks about how to protect oneself from them.<p>You&#x27;ve reached a strange conclusion here. Mass shootings (and other types of mass killings) happpen. Taking responsibility for your personal safety is simply prudent. You, individually, can probably not prevent all or even one mass shooting from occuring (perhaps, if you are very lucky, you could stop ONE mass shooting in your lifetime). You can, however, make sure you are prepared to keep yourself safe from mass shootings and other dangerous situations.<p>The fact is, we haven&#x27;t taken a serious look at the causes of mass shootings. It&#x27;s a difficult problem with no clear solutions.<p>Gun control advocates muddy the waters further by blaming the attacks on the availability of guns, even though there is ample evidence that guns only turn the phrase &quot;mass killing&quot; into the phrase &quot;mass shooting&quot;. The term &quot;mass shooting&quot; itself is largely political. We don&#x27;t talk about &quot;mass burnings&quot; when people are killed with arson or &quot;mass poisonings&quot; when people are attack with poison gas.