Any attempt to curb guns in a country that already has 300m in private hands is bound to be inadequate. The fact that much of what Barack Obama unveiled yesterday – including the ban on assault weapons – is unlikely to pass Congress adds to the sense of helplessness. Add in this week’s offensive campaign by the National Rifle Association calling Mr Obama an “elitist hypocrite” for accepting armed protection for his daughters but opposing it in schools (when in fact he supports it) and it is easy to despair.
On guns the US remains a profoundly exceptionalist nation. And the NRA is one of the most powerful organisations in the country.
But outrage is more fitting than despair. Yesterday Mr Obama proposed a reasonable but modest set of steps that included a national background check on gun buyers as well as a ban on the sale of assault weapons and certain high-magazine clips.