OT - No child deserves to die because of a coward.

[Targan]

Just so that all the non-US posters here are clear, what does "don't make it political" mean? I'm guessing (from what I know of the social and political landscape of the US) that in this context "political" means any discussion touching on gun control. If that's the case then this thread should be locked or even deleted straight away. How can you have any discussion about a massacre involving firearms without that elephant in the room?

I feel very, very sorry for the victims' families and for all Americans every time I see another one of these slaughters. It also seems to me to be an enormous tragedy that the power of certain lobbies in the US means that any meaningful discussion on how best to prevent such tragedies gets completely hamstrung right at the start. If the gun control issue is a huge no-no, what does that leave you with? Collective soul-searching about the possible underlying social or cultural triggers for shooting massacres? Or is that a bit too political as well? And if so, what room does that leave for any discussion at all, other than expressions of condolances?