Over the past month, the United States has witnessed one tragic mass shooting after another, most notably those that occurred in the Atlanta spas, the Colorado grocery store, and the Indianapolis Fedex facility. It’s no secret that the U.S. has a problem with gun violence: before COVID-19, there were more mass shootings on average than days in the year. While a solid majority of people in the United States support some form of gun control measures, progress has been slow. Here’s why.

Civilian-owned firearms in the United States outnumber people. For every 100 U.S. citizens there are 120.5 firearms, making the U.S. the country with the highest guns per capita rate on Earth. For comparison, the second and third ranked countries–Yemen, and a tie between Montenegro and Serbia–have rates of 52.8 and 39.1, respectively. To make matters more complicated, each of the 50 U.S. states and 7 territories have different laws regulating the use and ownership of firearms.

The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads: “A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.” For almost all of U.S. history, this was understood to apply to state militias, not civilians, thereby leaving firearm regulation up to state or territorial legislatures, and the U.S. Congress. But in a 2008 case called District of Columbia v. Heller, a conservative Supreme Court ruled for the first time in history that the Second Amendment could be applied to civilian gun ownership.

‍You may have heard the claim that 14,542 of people die each year from gun violence in the U.S.; however, that number is artificially low, as it excludes suicide. When you combine gun-related suicide and homicide numbers, the number shoots up to 38,396. Numerous studies have shown that access to firearms correlates to a heightened number of suicides in the U.S. After passing some of the most restrictive guns laws in the county, Connecticut witnessed a massive 15.4% drop in suicides.

‍Gun control advocates support strengthening background checks for potential gun buyers, banning future sales of certain assault weapons, and closing loopholes that allow private sales of firearms with little regulation. These proposals are generally supported by Democratic politicians and opposed by Republicans. However, experts say that while these measures may curb some abuses, the evidence does not point to these measures meaningfully reducing the rate of gun violence.

The evidence is clear in that there is only one way to reduce gun violence to the rates of other advanced countries: reduce the overall number of firearms. Advocates point to Australia as a case study: in 1996 and 2002, Australia passed two highly restrictive gun control laws and mandated buyback programs for all firearms that did not meet strict criteria. The law drastically reduced gun deaths. But in the U.S., a significant reduction of the number of guns is unpopular not just with lawmakers, but also with the general public.

‍One might wonder why people in the U.S. have such a reverence for owning firearms. Culture and history play a large role; even today, many high school students in rural areas will go hunting with their parents before the start of the school day. However, there are darker explanations, as well. Some male gun owners consider their firearms to be an essential component of their masculinity. Racist conspiracy theories about on-coming “race wars” necessitating firearms are unfortunately common on online gun forums.

Some defend gun ownership as a self-defense measure. However, crime has been declining since the 1990s and studies show gun owners are much more likely to harm a loved one than an intruder. Others claim that the U.S. would fall into tyranny without gun owners to keep the government in check. However, South Korea and Tunisia both had incredibly low gun ownership rates when protests led to democratic reforms. These arguments are not serious; until the U.S. is able to have an honest conversation about guns, the violence will continue.