Will Colorado shooting prompt US gun reform?

After every mass shooting, gun control supporters call for stricter federal laws, only to have their ideas sidelined.

The debate about US gun control laws is thrust back into the spotlight following the mass shooting at a Boulder, Colorado, supermarket, the second mass killing in the United States in a week. The political rhetoric in the wake of these shootings has become all too familiar – a post-massacre cycle featuring Democratic calls for stricter controls followed by Republican outrage at the idea and/or alternative proposals that do not involve stricter controls. That is ultimately followed by a lack of congressional action to change gun laws. “As a country, we have been through this too many times. Whether it’s an elementary school in Newtown, or a shopping mall in Oregon, or a temple in Wisconsin, or a movie theatre in Aurora, or a street corner in Chicago — these neighbourhoods are our neighbourhoods, and these children are our children. And we’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.”