Editor's note: Thomas O. Falk is a London-based political analyst and commentator. He holds a master's degree in international relations from the University of Birmingham and specializes in U.S. affairs. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

It is a well-known reflex in the United States: a mass shooting kills innocent people, and politicians either call for a ban on guns, stricter laws in general or simply prayers – depending on party affiliation. Change, meanwhile, never occurs. President Biden's attempt to end the carnage will not initiate a paradigm shift either.

The U.S. is witnessing yet another spree of shooting incidents, including Colorado, where ten people died, and Georgia, where eight people were shot dead.

With the pressure on politicians once again mounting, President Biden, who had promised during his election campaign to tackle the "international embarrassment," as he calls the frequent shootings, is seeking to enforce stricter rules for the possession of firearms via executive orders.

The primary aim was to curb the circulation of self-assembled firearms, while a registration requirement should also be introduced for specific supports with which handguns such as rifles can be used. Biden also appealed to states and Congress to finally enact stricter laws.

These are noble intentions and mark a stark contrast to his predecessor Donald Trump, who was closely associated with the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA). However, Biden's proclaimed steps will not change the problem. The gun issue in the U.S. is profound and remains more than just the question of right and wrong but rather a way of life.

After all, the right to bear arms is sacred to many Americans and enshrined by the Constitution's second amendment. It dates back to the ancient belief that one needs to be ready and equipped to defend the country against tyranny by the government or other intruders.

Regardless of the staggering amount of reoccurring shootings and the fact that no English King or Queen will invade U.S. soil anytime soon, these Americans continue to live by two particularly troublesome principles:

First, weapons do not kill people. People kill people. Second, the only way to stop an evil person with a gun is a good person with a gun.

It is a display of the idiosyncrasy between reality and perception in the U.S. Firearm fatalities are genuinely the order of the day. In 2018, the country accounted for 39,740 gun fatalities – equating to 109 deaths a day. In 2021, only four months into the year, gun violence has caused an estimated 11,000 deaths.

One can attempt to rationalize these figures by pointing towards suicides and gang-related violence included in these statistics. Still, it does not negate the reality that far too many Americans die due to the use of guns.

Considering the sheer quantity of guns in circulation, one should not be surprised either. Estimations go as high as 350 million firearms, which exceed the number of people living in the U.S. and equates to 40 percent of the world's total number of private guns. Sadly, it is a trend that only exacerbated over the past few years. Americans tend to purchase new or additional weapons whenever the country faces political turmoil.

The latter was witnessed after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and ever since Joe Biden won the election in November 2020. It resembles previous years. President Obama, like Biden now, also advocated in favor of stronger arms regulation. After Obama's election victory in 2008, gun purchases in America skyrocketed.

The reality is that the love for guns never left Americans, all atrocities notwithstanding. And the Republican Party has been the vehicle for the people's will, traditionally blocking significant legislative changes while the NRA continues to, in turn, make donations for lawmakers who remain part of the "resistance".

Whoever believed that the Democratic majority in Congress would facilitate change also finds oneself in a reality in which even a recent legislative push by the Democrats that aims to enhance background checks for gun purchases is failing. While the legislation passed the House of Representatives, it cannot make its way on the Senate floor as it lacks the 60 votes required to end the filibuster Republicans.

And even if there were some consensus in Congress, which is highly unlikely, any serious legislation passed and subsequentially signed by Joe Biden into law would be taken to the Supreme Court by gun rights supporters under the Second Amendment. Joe Biden's efforts and his executive orders will thus work as cosmetic corrections, at best.

But should one be surprised? Given the latest shooting, but especially considering the massacres at Sandy Hook, the Orlando night club, or in Las Vegas, the question arises as to what has to happen for gun advocates to finally deal with reality? 

The answer, sadly, is nothing. Not because the limit has been reached but because it does not seem to matter what happens next, where the next shooting occurs and how many innocent people will become victims of gun violence. If the Sandy Hook massacre, during which 20 elementary school pupils and six teachers were killed, could not bring about change, Joe Biden's latest initiative will not either.

Vast parts of the U.S. have become numb to these atrocities while the Second Amendment remains inviolable and more sacred than fellow citizens' lives, especially that of children.

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