In the 18 years since Columbine rocked America to its core, the country has seen so many more mass shootings that the attack isn't even among the 10 deadliest mass shootings in modern US history.
The gun lobby has succeeded by promoting an ingenious illusion. It has framed government as the enemy of the gun business rather than its indispensable historic patron.
The United States continues to be peculiar in handing out powerful magazine-fed firearms to almost anyone who wants one and not requiring background checks on private purchases even if these are made at gun shows or by persons with a history of mental illness.
The part of me that is a congressional historian sees this as a useful signpost and a colorful narrative of the ongoing stress that comes from an obstructionist Congress.
Mass violence has "a long, ugly history" in America, said Katherine Grandjean, history professor at Wellesley College. "It's a pattern as old as the nation and goes back long before even into the colonial roots."
