As Obama pleads for gun control after the sixteenth massacre of his presidency, America still refuses to listen

Terror against civilians on American soil is not confined to any single group or ideology, or indeed any particular degree of sanity

(REUTERS)

There are many questions left unanswered about the murder and mayhem perpetrated by Omar Mateen on blameless people in a club in Orlando, Florida. Some, such as his precise state of mind, the myriad motives involved, and why he chose that particular place at that particular time will probably never be resolved fully. In the hypothetical world of what-might-have-been, we also cannot know what the consequences would have been if the FBI had tailed Mateen physically or electronically for longer. Some things, though, we can draw conclusions about, even at this juncture.

First, America’s extraordinary attitude toward the personal possession of high-powered armaments is exposed once again for what it is: a clear and present danger to every citizen of the US. This, per capita, is the most “tooled up” nation on earth – beating even civil war-torn states such as Iraq, Yemen or Serbia. The fact that the “right to bear arms” is enshrined in the US constitution, and is unlikely to be repealed in the near future, makes this no less strange, or dangerous. Yet Florida Governor and recent US presidential candidate Marco Rubio is but one of many who dismisses gun control. He argues that the recent terrorist attacks in Paris were conducted in a nation with strict gun laws, but which proved little impediment to the terrorists involved. Yet that cannot be a reason for making high-powered semi-automatic weapons as freely available in parts of the United States as kitchen blenders or lawnmowers, as they are now; it necessarily follows that the easier the access, the more chance there will be of some individual or organised terror cell arming themselves, with consequences we are all too familiar with. Had France or Belgium had the same free attitude to arming their citizens then chances are the death toll in Paris would have been far higher, and the frequency of attacks of that kind much increased. For the sixteenth time in his near-two term presidency, Barack Obama has had to go before the American people to condemn yet another mass shooting of civilians and plead for reason; he knows only too well how futile that is, and that the real task of gun control has hardly begun.

The second truth we can draw from the Orlando tragedy is that it was not an act of “Islamic terror”, but an act of terror, full stop. A true understanding of Islam demonstrates that “Islamic terror” is a contradiction in terms. Terror against civilians on American soil is not confined to any single group or ideology, or indeed any particular degree of sanity. The Orlando outrage could have been the work of someone from the extreme right wing, as we saw with the analogous crimes of the “nail bomber” who attacked a gay pub in Soho in London in 1999. It may also be the case with the heavily armed man supposedly en route to the city’s Gay Pride Parade who was intercepted before he could do any harm.

Donald Trump, we can only hope, has done his presidential campaign much harm by ignoring these truths, and instead using this national tragedy for political ends, crudely criticising President Obama for not blaming Islam for multiple acts of murder. Once again Mr Trump has shown himself unsuited for the office he aspires to. He is, as Hillary Clinton remarked, a narcissistic man-child, but then we knew that already.

Last, and most depressingly, we know that this is far from the last attack of its kind, in America or elsewhere. We know, too, that the European football championship is another obvious potential target. We know the best immediate measures to deal with the threat of terror – from whatever source – involve investment in intelligence, in enforcement, in gun control and in community cohesion. Longer term, we need to drain the swamp of extremism from whence these viruses emanate, or at least do our best to do so. Despite the immediate news, there are many people of all faiths and backgrounds across the world working hard to precisely this end, including President Obama and the anti-gun lobby in the US. We hope his successor displays the same dedication, and has more success.