“‘Are we really prepared to say that we’re powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard? Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom?’ — President Barack Obama at a vigil in Newtown, Connecticut.”

President Barack Obama hinted at gun reform in his speech at Newtown. EPA/Olivier Douliery

“An Onion headline accurately describes how many Americans have been feeling these last few days: “F*#% Everything, Nation Reports”. Not even the fact that there were six mass shootings earlier this year, including one in a cinema and one in a place of worship, could blunt the horror of a massacre in an elementary school. Friday, December 14, 2012 was probably the most nationally traumatic day for the United States since 9/11.

“At this point, it is worth recounting some of the civil liberties Americans have given up since 9/11. The PATRIOT Act enabled the federal government to eavesdrop on citizens and intercept their emails. The Department of Homeland Security has devised increasingly invasive procedures for anyone who wants to get on a plane. As of this year, US citizens can be legally assassinated by their own government.

“Apart from the occasional threat of an airport uprising, Americans have placidly accepted all this as the “new normal”. With the debatable exception of the Fort Hood massacre, there has been no terrorist attack on US soil in more than a decade, but terrorism continues to provide justification for new violations of civil liberties.

“The contrast between this response and the response to mass shootings is remarkable. For a long time, both governments and citizens have seemed prepared to accept that a gun massacre – or a string of them – is no reason to violate the rights of gun owners. This includes the right to own and stockpile semi-automatic weapons whose only purpose is killing large numbers of people.

“The National Review’s Robert VerBruggen has explained why Americans need semi-automatics. He wrote that they are ‘especially helpful” for hunting targets that are running.’” To read this article at The Conversation in its entirety, click here.