Beyond a tragedy, there are no words to describe quite how incredibly awful it is. My thoughts are with all those that were lost, have lost and those effected in the chain reaction of loss.
It is time for change...America's gun control laws are the loosest in the developed world and its rate of gun-related homicide is the highest. Of the world's 23 "rich" countries, the U.S. gun-related murder rate is almost 20 times that of the other 22. With almost one privately owned firearm per person, America's ownership rate is the highest in the world; tribal-conflict-torn Yemen is ranked second, with a rate about half of America's.
Japan, the developed world's least firearm-filled nation and perhaps its strictest controller? In 2008, the U.S. had over 12 thousand firearm-related homicides. All of Japan experienced only 11, fewer than were killed at the Newton shooting alone. And that was a big year: 2006 saw an astounding 2, and when that number jumped to 22 in 2007, it became a national scandal. By comparison, also in 2008, 587 Americans were killed just by guns that had discharged accidentally.
You can say that; 'the States in America with the most firearms have the lowest homicide rates', but you can also say 'the countries in the world with the lowest homicide rates, also have the least of them (firearms) and tightest laws on them.' And yes, cars do kill people, but there primary function is to get you from A-B, the primary function of a gun is to kill.
the U.S. constitution's second amendment is intended in part to maintain "the security of a free State" by ensuring that the government doesn't have a monopoly on force. Though it's worth considering another police state here: Tunisia, which had the lowest firearm ownership rate in the world (one gun per thousand citizens, compared to America's 890) when its people toppled a brutal, 24-year dictatorship and sparked the Arab Spring.