It is difficult to comprehend the mindset of so many Americans who are determined to ensure that their constitutional right to bear arms remains inalienable and unassailable even when the common sense of that right seems so illogical.
Since the calendar month turned to May alone, the United States has been rocked by three separate and horrific mass shooting events. The latest occurred in Uvalde, Texas, where an 18-year-old gunman took over a classroom in an elementary school.
By the time his evil work was done, 19 schoolchildren lay dead along with two brave teachers who tried to shield them from the horror that was unfolding. This was a lesson in life no one should have to learn, least not children who were murdered in the supposed sanctuary and safety of their school.
Last week, in Buffalo in upstate New York, a gunman killed ten people, targeted because they were black. Another shooting at a church saw one die and at least 10 people injured. On most days in America, 100 people on average die because of gun violence.
That the 18-year-old gunman who perpetrated the Uvalde massacre carried more than twice the amount of ammunition carried by a US serviceman heading into battle, speaks to the ease that guns and firepower are amassed in Texas, where even identity checks are not required to buy a gun in a state where weapons can be openly carried.
Columbine, Sandy Hook, Uvalde. Sadly the list goes on. And after each school shooting, there is a promise that never again will such incidents occur. Sadly, time and time again, despite the will of so many left grieving by this madness, nothing effectively happens.
In part, the National Rifle Association is highly effective in ensuring that politicians who support the right to bear arms are financially supported — and those who don’t are targeted with attack ads.
Bringing in effective gun control means dealing with a patchwork of federal and state legislation — making it virtually impossible to ensure meaningful measures take hold regardless of the shock and horror of these shootings.
There is a reality too that 42 per cent of Americans live in a household where there is at least one gun. And in the vast majority of those homes, there are all too often many more weapons at hand for those with evil in their hearts.
No, effective gun control measures are beyond reach for too many legislators. Tragically, we know only too well that there are so many more places that will be forever etched in pain across the US. And that is a tragedy of profound proportions.
