The disbelief and inability to understand brings to my mind the horrific Dunblane massacre (Scotland 1996), which as it happens was in yesterday's news here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2314249.stm

To some extent I've wanted (like, I expect, many people who had a choice) to erase Dunblane from my memory, but I visited the Gun Control Network referenced in the news article:
http://www.gun-control-network.org/gcnintro.htm

The GCN was set up in the aftermath of Dunblane, and its founders include many parents of victims. It has campaigned vigorously for tighter gun laws, and for the most part has - I am delighted to say - done quite well in the ongoing struggle against the shooting lobby. The UK now has, as it says on the site: "a complete ban on handguns... and some of the strictest gun laws in the world".

I then checked out the detail of the GCN's achievements and found that the Gun Control Network has gone global with IANSA (in case any non-UKers are interested):
http://www.iansa.org/

...and then I checked out Facts & Research and was left pretty aghast at some of what I found there. Go to http://www.gun-control-network.org/facts.htm and scroll down to Gun Death - International Comparisons. The figures speak for themselves.

There's something positive to take from this, though. Simply put: things can be changed if enough people really want the change. And - crucially - it doesn't have to wait for the next election or for a particular political party to be in power.

Here endeth the lesson.