US stubbornly holds a gun to its own head

Gun violence, the heart of darkness pulsing in American life, continues to show the US political system in an ugly light. Another shooting, this time in Odessa, Texas, took the lives of seven people including the suspect.

AP reported it brought the number of mass killings in the US to 25 for the year — as many as for the entire 12 months of 2018.

The atrocity occurred as the heavily gun-rights state prepared to loosen already-weak gun restrictions. From this week it will be easier for Texans to carry handguns in schools, apartments and churches. More than a million Texan residents hold concealed handgun permits.

Mass shootings happen with horrible monotony in the US. The locations, numbers of victims and circumstances change. The aftermath remains the same. Despite “thoughts and prayers” for the dead and suffering, nothing changes.

A constant body count, even of small children, appears to be considered by many an acceptable price to pay for no action on guns. So must abnormal normalities such as fear and vigilance in shopping centres, “active shooter training” for schoolkids and bullet-stopping child backpacks.

Yet polls show most Americans do want tighter gun controls.

A Quinnipiac University poll last week showed these results: 93 per cent support for background checks; 82 per cent support for requiring a gun buy licence; 80 per cent backing for a “red flag” law; 60 per cent support for an assault weapons ban.

The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed two bipartisan bills on background checks earlier this year. But Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has yet to bring a vote to the Senate.

This disconnect between what most people want and what they get is hardly unusual in the US system.

Highly motivated and organised partisans, business interests and lobbyists are far more successful at achieving political ends in the US than people focused on life, family, work, health and leisure and those essentially disillusioned with the system.

For instance, regarding reproductive issues and immigration.

Lack of participation, motivation and disbelief that results can be achieved or make a difference shows up in America’s voting figures.

In the 2016 US presidential election, 40 per cent of eligible voters didn’t bother.

In a new study of voting patterns and demographics, Pew says “non-voters were more likely to be younger, less educated, less affluent and non-white . . . and more Democratic”. Just 13 per cent of voters in 2016 were aged under 30, compared to 27 per cent aged over 65.

It’s a frustrating cycle. Politicians pander to more assertive, reliable voters. Non-voters or those who need to push more for their own interests are less likely to do so. And the treatment of issues such as gun control actively discourage trying.