How can anyone in the city of Boston, the state of Massachusetts, or indeed in the country as a whole, feel secure after the latest, murderous shooting rampage in the town of Wakefield, on Tuesday?
Once again, a man went on a rampage at his workplace and according to colleagues, until this happened he had appeared to be a normal person.
I was reminded of the case of John Salvi, in 1996, also in Massachusetts, when I read about this latest incident, who shot two receptionists in medical clinics. How many more killings must there be in the state, before it is decided to call a halt to those gun-slinging lobby groups with their symbolic leader Charlton Heston, who claim that the Second Amendment in the US is sacrosanct? These groups contributed heavily to George W Bush's presidential campaign war chest.
How many more innocent people must die, before it is decided in the US, to abolish the bearing of arms as a right?
When he was US Attorney-General, Robert Kennedy supported calls to abolish the bearing of firearms as a right. This is an unnecessary legacy from the frontier days.
Piecemeal regulations and restrictions are not good enough. It is far too easy for people to obtain firearms in this country and psychiatrists cannot predict with any certainty when an individual is likely to embark on a killing spree.