When did they start to have mass shootings and what is the source of the problem?
They likely always existed, I can recall the term “going postal” when I was kid, which referenced postal worker that snapped. That said, in the modern era, ground zero can probably be considered Columbine 1999. Some will argue after a 10 year ban on “assault rifles” and large capacity magazines, that ended in 2004.
Why are they so prevalent today? Any bodies guess. Likely a handful of reasons. My feeling is that American society has very deep underlying problems that neither side want to get honest about, starting with haves and have nots etc. . It’s always easier to blame guns or mental health.
Canadians for our population own a lot of firearms. Certainly nothing like the US, but “a lot”. Our gun controls are pretty strict, they are federal versus a mish mash of State law, and theirs aren’t…plus they can get and use large capacity magazines…That said, guns are smuggled here from the US no differently than other substances. The mass shooter in Nova Scotia had no trouble getting them. But it’s easier to blame guns, then tackle the problem…
Our gun death per capita ( murder, accidents, suicides) is under 2. Theirs is around 13-14 now ( I think)…..in both countries suicides account for about half of gun deaths. Suicide rates about the same and in both countries the rates for men are alarmingly high. But like mass murders, few want to look at honestly. It’s just easier to blame guns….or men or right wing men.
So why do they have mass shootings everyday, and they are pretty rare here? We breathe the same air. Differences in our societies imo. We value human life more, value our neighbors more, and are “socialist” whereas they are “capitalist “ and everybody for themselves. We pay A lot of taxes, and pour money into things like healthcare, access to mental healthcare, education, inner cities and poverty, aka social safety nets. They don’t.