One needs to ask, how did we do in the 60's to the 80's with less guns compared to the 2000's with a hell of a lot more guns.
What did the NRA do back then compared to today?
That was a long time ago, the US has 80% more people than in 1965 and I'm not sure why you would ask this question if you know how the country has changed since that year. The US population hit 300 million in 2006 and now, it's ~334 million, most of the addition is from outside of the country- the US birth rate has been declining for a long time.
Some of the reasons for the increase in gun crimes:
- Bad parenting and kids who have learned that they deserve absolute respect just for existing, don't respect others or their property and can't handle conflicts without being violent
- The education system
- Many more gangs who are much more violent
- Rampant drug use and the illegal drug market
- The changes in racial relations
- Congress and government, in general
- NRA, under Charleton Heston and Wayne LaPierre- remember Heston's comment "You can have my guns when you pry them from my cold, dead hands"?
- Movies and TV, glamorizing violence and dulling our sense of outrage, shock and disgust
- Mainstream Media, who just have to be first on scene, showing murders, attacks and mayhem in real time, rather than presenting it later, in a way that doesn't cause people to freak out. F&ck them with their "Live, Local, Late-breaking" bullshyte!
A lot of people and groups are responsible, IMO- the level of hatred has gone up in ways that would have been inconceivable in the '60s. We didn't lock our garage until around '67, after someone went in and swapped a rusty front wheel on my brother's bike and we started locking our house soon after. That act, which would be thought of as 'insignificant' now, shocked our neighborhood.
I would like for someone to wipe the smiles off of the faces of newscasters when they report terrible incidents.