President Obama’s immediate response to the unspeakable shootings in Newtown, Conn., was to call for people “to come together to take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.” But it’s precisely gun politics that have prevented us from taking “meaningful action” in response to a surge in mass shootings in recent years. 

The president’s inexact phrase leaves unaddressed what might be done. Gun-control advocates have called for reinstating the federal assault-weapons ban, limiting the capacity of gun magazines, improving background checks on purchasers, and finding more effective ways to keep guns out of the hands of those with serious mental-health problems.

None of this will happen, if recent history holds true. The National Rifle Association and gun-rights activists ensure as much.

The gun debate has become so one-sided…

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