Television would be the culprit if it had started in the 1940s. Movies if it had started in the 20s. But the truth is there seems to be a deep rooted cultural fixation with guns and gunfights. Probably some of it is rooted in the Revolution and the locals using their guns to kick out the Brits. Lots more is rooted in the frontier stuff, and quite a bit in fear of (insert racial group). Guns are seen as a key tool in resolving your problems in a way they are not for much of the rest of the world, even those countries with relatively high gun ownership (like Switzerland and Finland, which have less than 1/10th the gun crime rates).
I actually think the polarization of the debate about gun control has made things worse, not better. Heated venom about miniscule details of gun regulation completely distracts from the core cultural problem of gun violence. From the outside looking in we can see you guys shouting past each other about this or that regulation while >8000 of you die every year to gun violence, more than 30 a day. From where I am sitting that looks insane.
