A terrible, terrible tragedy.

[Ashock]

It is a deeply embedded American cultural imperative to feel that they must retain the right to own guns.

The founding fathers of this country believed that it's citizens should be able to do something if their government fails them, and to never completely rely on the government. This is a concept unlike any other in the whole world, at least among the semi-free nations. This is the reason for guns being important in the US.

Over 200 years later, and their reason is still very valid and their wisdom still holds.