Steve McNair is just another victim of American gun culture. McNair, dead by gun in America, came out of Mount Olive, Miss., whose population still came up short of 1,000 when McNair made it to the Super Bowl with the Tennessee Titans in January 2000.

According to the The Tennessean newspaper, McNair had a permit to carry a handgun. The weapon found next to the bodies was a semiautomatic.

There were so many wonderful statistics attached to McNair's career, the most important being the one Super Bowl, the four Pro Bowls to which he was selected, all the games he won. But the last was the only one that mattered. He is the 36th homicide victim in Nashville this year. That is down from 41 at the same time last year.

Only in a country of gun lovers is that considered progress.. --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why is this gun culture allowed to flourish?