1 . Another horrible shooting took place in the United States on Tuesday just days after the one in Buffalo, New York. The shooter shot his grandmother first and then killed 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in the city of Uvalde, Texas.

Speaking on Tuesday night from the White House, US President Joe Biden said, “And we must ask when in God’s name will we do what needs to be done to, if not completely stop, fundamentally change the amount of carnage that goes on in this country. It’s time for action.”

Yes, it is high time that action was taken to stop such carnage. In 2012, a lone gunman went crazy through Sandy Hook primary school — killing six adults and 20 children. Afterward there were loud calls for gun control similar to those being voiced today. Former president Barack Obama has tried to do everything to act and the Democrats proposed enhancing background checks. Some of the measures received Republican support, but it proved impossible to get them through Congress and into law.

Something is so clearly wrong with the political system in the US that such a popular move cannot be carried out. Almost 20 million guns were sold legally in the US in 2020, and the figure was nearly 19 million in 2021. The total economic value of the gun industry in the US increased from $19.1 billion in 2008 to $63.5 billion in 2019, a 232-percent increase, according to a report by the National Shooting Sports Foundation. The gun industry paid nearly $7 billion in business taxes.

With the huge interests behind the gun industry, it would be naive to believe that any effective action will ever be possible to put people’s lives first. When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun gun control? Not until the political system in the US is reformed to treat its disorder.