Semi-automatic rifles and open carry pistols aren\u2019t an issue in Germany. There are strict gun laws that keep personal weapons mostly confined to hunting and target sports (Evening Standard<\/a>). No one walks into schools, churches, or grocery stores armed. Germany has one of the lowest gun death rates in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Germans don\u2019t consider carrying a gun a Constitutional or even a \u201cGod Given\u201d right. They look at the American carnage of mass shootings, replayed almost daily; as some strange \u201cYank\u201d aberration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But Germans do have their own odd predilections. Their national argument isn\u2019t about guns – it\u2019s about speed. The Autobahn is the German version of the US Interstate highway system. Built by the Nazi regime before World War II, the Autobahn system was carefully designed for high speed driving. The wide roads traverse the nation without interruption, the curves carefully banked for maximum control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Outside of the city centers, there is no speed limit on the Autobahn. The Porsches, Mercedes, Audis and BMW\u2019s can go as fast as they can – many upwards of 250 kilometers per hour (around 160 mph). Cars with less power huddle in the slower lanes, straining to reach 120 kph (the 75 mph most Americans are used to). To grow bold and drive 200 kph (120 mph), drivers venture into the fast lane – briefly. But flashing headlights from a half mile behind converge almost as quickly as a driver can pass – all at 65 kph (40 mph) closing speeds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To say slower cars get blown aside understates the feeling. It\u2019s like pulling onto the Indy track in the middle of the 500. There\u2019s even a listing of the top ten speeds clocked on the Autobahn (HowStuffWorks<\/a>), the fastest at 432 kph (268 mph). The Autobahn is considered safer than American Interstate highways. But when there are fatalities, more than half are from \u201cinappropriate speed\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Like the American system, the Autobahn also includes commercial trucking. They do have a speed limit; 80 kph (50 mph), increasing the contrast in closing speeds and the need for \u201cmoderate\u201d traffic to move into the high speed lanes. And there are environmental concerns as well, as the high powered cars produce more pollution at extreme speeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Americans look at that, and often say, \u201cThat\u2019s crazy, they should just slow down!!\u201d But many Germans see the Autobahn\u2019s unlimited speed as a \u201cright\u201d. That\u2019s backed by the power of the car manufacturers, who make high speed a big selling point for their top models. What\u2019s the good of owning a new Porsche 218, or the more traditional 911, if you can\u2019t \u201cmax it out\u201d. Like gun manufacturers in the United States, Porsche (Audi), Mercedes and BMW all maintain pressure on the legislature protecting the Autobahn’s unlimited speed. And Germans do have a point in their favor. German traffic fatality rates are 3.7 per 100,000 people, the US has 12.4\/100,000 (and don\u2019t drive in Liberia with 35.9\/100,000 \u2013 World Population Review<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a movement in Germany today to restrict speed on the Autobahn, mostly for environmental reasons (NYT<\/a>). But it\u2019s not \u201chappening\u201d. The Germans like their speed, and they\u2019re going to keep it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I bet if almost 10,000 died on the Autobahn since January the Germans would have a different view. That\u2019s the number of Americans killed by guns, including 131 in mass shootings. And it\u2019s not even Easter (Gun Violence Archive<\/a>). Americans own 1.2 guns per person, double any other nation in the world (Germany has 0.2 guns per person \u2013 World Population Review<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n But my analogy might be better, if Germans were driving their Porsches into elementary schools and killing nine year-olds.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s an American thing, I guess.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n I thought about how many times I’ve written about mass shootings in the past years. Here’s a list<\/em> – at least the ones I can easily identify<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nUnlimited Speed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Unlimited Influence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Mass Shootings<\/h5>\n\n\n\n