It goes without saying any thinking, feeling individual in the US is horrified by the latest mass shooting. Left or right, Democrat or Republican, we are equally heartbroken by the descriptions of the mayhem that ensued when a gunman walked into a grocery store and opened fire, seemingly at random.
What happens next will be as nauseating as it is predictable. Liberals will shout out for sensible gun safety measures like universal background checks, while conservatives will retreat behind a 2nd amendment argument that has been twisted like a pretzel to fit each and every spasm of gun violence we face.
The fact that 80-90% of Americans approve background checks seems not to matter to gun industry apologists. In fact, it is not obvious said checks would have prevented the latest shooter from obtaining a semi automatic weapon of mass destruction.
Once again, the filibuster in the Senate and our hyper partisan politics have prevented the ultimate goal of preventing such weapons, whose sole purpose is to kill large numbers of people, from being purchased in the first place. There is no good reason for it and it has to stop.
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