Democratic senator not optimistic for gun control reform

Democratic US Senator Cory Booker says he was “not that hopeful” Congress would pass any gun control legislation despite a recent wave of mass shootings that fueled anger across the US. 

Booker said in an interview with NBC that there were plenty of “common sense” reforms lawmakers could pass to address gun violence, but that the US was too “out of step” to combat the crisis.

A mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday has reignited the debate about gun control in the United States.

The massacre, the third deadliest school shooting in US history, occurred when the gunman -- identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos -- entered the school building unobstructed and started firing. He killed 19 children and two teachers.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has also restarted talks on passing some type of gun control bill recently, but analysts say there is a little chance that they will be able to get the 60 votes needed to pass

Booker said on Sunday that he hoped something would be done this time about guns but doubted that whatever is enacted will be enough

He further said the US is uniquely prone to such violence because of its laxness on reform.

“Everything we’re talking about today does not happen in other countries. Just here, because we tolerate it,” he added.

“And that’s the question: How much endurance do we have for horror and wretchedness and pain and death when we have the ability to change it?”

School shooting in Texas blamed on easy access to guns

18 year old Salvador Ramos is suspected of shooting his grandmother before going on a killing spree at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

The US has received increasing criticism from the international community and gun safety advocates domestically over the failure of lawmakers to pass gun control laws.

Meanwhile, the gun control activist group, Stand With Parkland, denounced the country for “pandering to folks on the far right and folks on the far left.”

The president of the group, Tony Montalto, said that what the nation really needs "is to stop the pandering to the folks on the far right and the folks on the far left."

He said people who use semiautomatic rifles and other high-powered firearms should “imagine what they do to the bodies of children in schools.”

After the school shooting this week, Democratic leaders framed the domestic terrorism bill as the best vehicle for quick action on gun violence prevention measures.

The bill, known as the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act, would authorize offices in the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the FBI to investigate and monitor domestic terrorism.

The efforts, however, have run into opposition from the Republicans.

The US has a unique gun culture with the right to possess firearms enshrined in the US Constitution.

It's the only nation in the world where civilian guns outnumber the people. There are 120 guns for every 100,000 Americans.

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