Re: As a point of fact
I'm not too torn up about the gun control legislation failing. The last time we passed sweeping legislation in the emotional wake of a tragedy to 'make sure it never happens again' we ended up with the PATRIOT Act. Not to mention that none of the proposed measures would have prevented the Newtown shooting had they been in place beforehand, as the shooter's mother had a clean background and all of her firearms were purchased from licensed dealers long before the shooting and were all properly registered. Beyond that, the mass shootings that make the headlines are a drop in the bucket compared to the level of background gun violence occurring in our cities daily. The vast majority of crimes are committed with small handguns that are illegally purchased and possessed by desperately impoverished people.
Gun control is already in place. More robust universal background checks may or may not make some small difference, and better enforcement of existing laws would go a long way, but the real problems are social welfare issues, primarily extreme urban poverty and an abysmally poor mental health system.
Is America the model for the world? No. Our legislature is woefully inefficient and is populated almost entirely by sideshow clowns. That being said, focusing what little legislative attention and effectiveness we do have on scary black plastic assault weapons and scary fifty caliber sniper rifles is a waste of time and resources that could be better spent elsewhere.