By David Futrelle
Even a cursory look at the research on mass shootings suggests an obvious conclusion: the number of deaths in mass shootings seems pretty directly correlated to how easy it is to get hold of guns, in particular the assault rifles that have become the weapon of choice for mass killers. Countries that make it hard to get guns have drastically fewer mass shootings than the gun-friendly United States. Countries that have restricted gun ownership have seen the number of mass shootings fall.