No, it's not the same. I'm an American and live in the US.

The problem is that Americans take it as an insult, a slight on their country and go into kneejerk defense mode.

Yes, it happens everywhere. But not nearly with the frequency as in the US, which exponentially hold the record for firearm massacres. In fact, in 2012, massacres were at an all time high in the US, and thus the world. It's not just the two or three big ones you heard about in a high profile way.

And then there's the problem behind the problem, which is the mindset. Americans are unique in that they have a hardcore gun culture quite unlike other countries, where the value of having guns - any kind of gun, whether it's high capacity, rapid fire, made for maximizing kills the way the military would want to - is equated with freedom above all others. Because it's a misunderstood constitutional right. The mindset is infected, it's a cultural wrong turn. And this feeds the frequency, informs the laws, and influences the choices (among other things that converge here).

What Americans don't seem to understand is that no one is going to take away their guns. They can have a fucking rifle, a pistol, a shotgun. But guns mean so much more to them, to the point of unreason...why do I have to stop there? Why can't I buy a rapid fire assault rifle? Etc. Pointless. Either you get it or you don't.

I'm making a sweeping generalization, but the fact remains that you only have to deal with this cultural infection in the US. It's endemic, almost.