It’s unfortunately true. By capitalising on fear and paranoia, the worst parts of the gun industry act as advertising for the gun industry. As we well know, more fear, insecurity and firearms lead to more shootings which leads to more fear, more guns and even more shootings. People continue to die and gun manufacturers make a killing each time. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle that needs dramatic action to break but there’s a lot of money and interests who want to keep things the way they are and they’re very good at steering the conversation away from where it needs to be.

It’s not about assault rifles. It’s not about magazine capacity. It’s not about mental disorders. It’s about a country filled with scared, angry and desperate people with no way out and unfettered access to extremely dangerous weapons. As long as there is still poverty, inequality, radicalized domestic terrorists and bigotry, guns will continue to be a vessel for mass destruction. So unless someone can find a magical solution for all of those problems at the same time, something must be done to better regulate firearms.