In the wake of last week’s elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two adults were murdered by a teenager with a semi-automatic rifle, a familiar pattern of response unfolded. Horror, anguish and then, on America’s gun-supporting political right, denial. In Houston, the gun industry enjoyed its annual celebration of weapons with barely a nod to events just a few hours’ drive away, with Donald Trump berating “virtue-signalling” Democratic gun law reformers.
A widespread belief seems to exist that America’s gun culture is simply too deep-rooted to change. But is it? Guardian US writer Chris McGreal considers what kind of pressure it would take to force the weapons lobby into action. Then, in Opinion, Jonathan Freedland asks for how long America will keep sacrificing the lives of its young.
