Control, alt, delete

FIRST comes grief, then outrage and then failed gun-control bills in Congress: the ritual that follows a mass shooting in America is wearyingly familiar. After 49 people were murdered in Orlando, the cycle hit warp speed. Less than ten days after the bodies arrived in the morgue, the Senate voted against introducing universal background checks on gun purchases, a measure that has the support of close to 90% of Americans. In a sign of their frustration, House Democrats staged a sit-in in Congress, as part of an attempt to get a vote on gun control (which they would almost certainly lose). Will America ever follow other rich countries and introduce far-reaching restrictions on gun ownership?There are powerful reasons for pessimism. The vetoes wielded in Congress by those who take an expansive view of gun rights is one. The prevailing interpretation of the Second Amendment is another. Add that half of gun owners now say they own firearms for self-protection, up from a quarter at the beginning of the century, stir in lobbying by the National Rifle Association (NRA), and change looks impossible. Indeed, mass shootings tend to be followed by a spike in gun sales and a renewed desire in many states to loosen gun laws.