The Firearms Culture Is Encoded Into the DNA of U.S. Identity

Exploring the historical roots and modern consequences of gun culture in the United States.

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“We pledge allegiance to gun manufacturers and the NRA of America, and for campaign funds for which they give, we sacrifice, under God, our integrity and compassion for all.”

The Pledge Taken by Too Many Politicians

I write these words after hearing of yet another school shooting in the United States. This time a shooter killed at least four people at a private Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin before killing himself. At least five others have been taken to hospital with bullet wounds.

With two weeks left to go in 2024, there have been at least 385 mass shootings, according to the , which defines a mass shooting as one in which at least four people are shot. But gun violence in the United States is so common as to be unremarkable, almost normal. At the height of the Corona-19 pandemic in , for example, gun-related violence resulted in 26,328 suicides and 20,328 homicides.

Earlier this month, Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old highly educated young man from a wealthy family allegedly acted out the rage many of us have…