Canada is a great country. The United States is another great country. I've spent lots of time there in the past ten years or so. We are a lot alike.

  We are both kind, decent people over all. Raise our kids to be kind and respectful of others. Spend time with family and friends, play sports and celebrate birthdays and holidays together. Pay our bills, shop for groceries and fight with our spouses. We all complain about the weather and the amount of taxes we pay. Pretty much the same people in general.

  When it comes to gun violence however, we are polar opposites.  And I couldn't be happier about it.

  Yesterday a man open-fired on a community college campus in Oregon. He killed nine people and wounded, at last count, seven more. President Barack Obama said  "Somehow this has become routine. The reporting is routine. My response here, at this podium, ends up being routine. We've become numb to this."  And sadly he's right.

  This morning I was wondering why it happens there so often and no where else in the world. Especially in Canada.

  Yes they have ten times the population we do. But many many countries have even more people and its a rare event. While the US has a diverse mix of cultures they are not alone in that area.  Economics doesn't stand out because there are too many poorer countries, with more internal problems than the US and this isn't their "norm".

  So what is the only difference that comes to mind? Guns. Pure and simple. Guns. Too easy to own. Too easy to get. Too easy. Guns.

   I'm sure some of you think that's too simplistic a response. Maybe it is. But for the life of me I cannot ever imagine buying a semi-automatic rifle for my own personal safety. Or needing four hand guns, which the shooter apparently had with him yesterday, to protect my property and family. To me that's insane.

  I know guns don't kill people. People kill people. I also know that most of these mass shootings are done by folks with mental health issues...another entry another day.  And I also know that most of the time the guns used in these massacres were illegally obtained or converted. However....

  Perhaps as a country they need to focus less on their " right to bear arms" and more on being able to go to school, church or a movie theater without being killed.

  Ang