We Need Gun Control; NRA be Damned

The world is speaking out:

British Home Office Minister Tony McNulty studied at Virginia Tech University.

"If this does prompt a serious, reflective debate on gun ownership and gun law in the states, then some good may come from this woeful tragedy," he said.

The struggle against the proliferation of guns is in retreat:

Dennis Hennigan is with the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

"We have gone in the opposite direction,” he said. “Not only do we have inaction, we actually have retrenchment on this issue, and it is high time that our national leaders heed the call of the American people that strongly support reasonable measures to curb this kind of random gun violence."

The Republicans have been especially successful in the preventing the bringing of sanity to gun ownership. The Democrats haven't done much either:

Few politicians were prepared to take up the challenge of Paul Helmke, the president of the Brady Campaign, America's premier gun control lobby group, which called on Congress to hold a debate on the gun control issue.

"Until we are prepared to really look at the consequences of lax gun laws and the consequences of living in a country saturated with guns, we will continue to have these terrible tragedies," he said.

Previous mass killings, including the Amish school shooting last year, did not raise any serious debate over weapons in American society.

The powerful National Rifle Association has been effective in stopping gun reform during the years that Republicans controlled Congress.

Bush was able to get the bloodshed in Iraq off the front pages. Ironically it was replaced by more bloodshed. And in this case, just as in Iraq, King George deserves blame.