US gun control: ‘Not enough support to overcome division’

The standard political reaction to mass shootings in the United States has now become routine and often involves legislation becoming gridlocked at the federal level, a professor of law and expert in gun control has said.

States often responded in predictable ways to mass shootings, Prof Tim Lytton told BBC World News, with those favouring gun control generally passing stricter restrictions, and those favouring gun rights liberalising these laws in the belief that more widely available firearms will prevent these events.

"I think it's unlikely we are likely to see a break in this sort of pattern," he said.

Ten people, including a police officer, were killed by a gunman at a grocery market in the US state of Colorado on Monday.

It is the seventh mass killing in the US this year and follows the killing of eight people, including six Asian women, at three spas in Atlanta, Georgia, last week.

The US Senate will be discussing gun safety on Tuesday. President Joe Biden recently called for tougher legislation to ensure there are background checks on anyone wishing to buy a firearms.