Violent Hate Crimes Involve Both Hatred and Violence

The photo below appeared recently on the Facebook page of a far-right group called "Young Americans for Liberty."

It features a quote attributed to actor Samuel L. Jackson:

I don't think it's about more gun control. I grew up in the south with guns everywhere and we never shot anyone. This [shooting] is about people who aren't taught the value of life.

This is a cute sentiment, but it presupposes that events such as the terrorist attack on the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC cannot be about both too many guns and too little respect for life. After all, the U.S. hasn't got a monopoly on hate; plenty of other Western industrialized nations have as many problems with hate as we do, but do not have anything close to the problems with gun violence that we've got.