海角大神

Sunday morning鈥檚 attacks at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., have prompted many to take a strong position on gun control, saying 鈥渆nough is enough.鈥�

The past several days have seen聽calls for the government to tackle both prongs of the issue聽鈥撀爐errorism and our nation鈥檚 gun laws, which many say enable terrorists.

On Wednesday, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, where 26 first graders and their teachers were killed in a devastating school shooting in 2012, began a filibuster to force a vote on a proposed 鈥渘o-fly, no-buy鈥� list that would prevent individuals on the 鈥渘o fly鈥� list from purchasing weapons.

President Obama, who has long called for stricter gun control, also advocated for the 鈥渘o fly, no buy鈥� bill on Tuesday, as well as an assault weapon ban.

Even Republican candidate Donald Trump, who has tentatively supported the NRA in the past, announced that he would meet with the group this week about the 鈥渘o fly, no buy鈥� bill.

Many of the nation's leading newspapers have dedicated extensive space to calls for gun control. On Thursday, The Boston Globe ran a full page ad on the paper's cover featuring a military-style weapon and a plea to "Make it stop" in bold, capital letters.

On Monday, immediately following the shooting, The Washington Post published opined in an editorial that "there is no reason聽that mass killers聽can still legally buy their weapon of choice in America"聽in the United States.

The New York Times took an even stronger stance on Thursday with an editorial聽condemning the National Rifle Association聽for enabling terrorists to purchase weapons that allow them to commit mass shootings such as the one that took place this week in Orlando.

Among the American public, it seems that a change of heart about gun control may have taken place in the wake of the Orlando massacre.

A CBS poll conducted after the Sunday attacks found that 57 percent of the country, including 79 percent of Democrats polled and 36 percent of Republicans, believe that gun laws聽should be stricter than they are today.

Furthermore, after dipping to just 44 percent last, the latest poll revealed that 57 percent of Americans favor an assault weapons ban.

Despite the strong positions taken by several media outlets, critics of tighter gun restrictions maintain that stricter gun control would not stop radicalized terrorists, and that the United States should instead focus on stemming the problem at its roots.

鈥淭he states that have the most gun control like California, that聽already ban assault rifles, that鈥檚 where San Bernardino happened and we learn this lesson over and over again," said Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt on a Fox Business Network show. 鈥淟aw abiding citizens have guns and they鈥檙e former military, they鈥檙e law enforcement, they are moms, they鈥檙e wives.鈥�

Mr. Laxalt argued that stricter gun control measures would divide, rather than unite, the nation at a time when it badly needs unity.

"I just find it appalling that we are focusing on everything but the primary threat, which is radical Islamic terrorism鈥� Laxalt told Fox.

Others say that the Obama administration鈥檚 鈥減olitical correctness鈥� regarding Muslim immigrants to the United States聽exacerbated a terrorist threat.

CBS polling indicates that 67 percent of Americans believe the Islamic State militant group is a threat to the United States, and that 80 percent of Americans are somewhat to very concerned about a terrorist attack by people already inside the United States.

Opponents of stricter gun control measures say that no matter what measures the government takes, terrorists will find a way. Chris Cox, executive director of the聽National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, pointed out that聽last year鈥檚 devastating attacks in France occurred in a country with very strict weapons bans, in an聽op-ed in USA today on Tuesday. 聽

Instead of truly protecting us, Mr. Cox wrote, assault weapons bans give us聽only the illusion of protection. Advocating for stricter gun control, Cox says, could actually put us more at risk, because it distracts from the true problem of terrorism.

Those who support assault weapons bans and stricter gun control rebut concerns like those Cox expressed, saying that making it more difficult for terrorists to get their hands on a gun could decrease the risk of terrorist attacks.

In today鈥檚 editorial, The New York Times editorial board writes that it is the NRA鈥檚 powerful lobby that has prevented these common sense measures from being passed, from restricting magazine capacities to universal background checks.

The New York Times also rejected the NRA鈥檚 鈥渁bsurd fantasy鈥� that armed Americans can help prevent terrorist attacks, saying that the armed security guard at Orlando鈥檚 Pulse nightclub was unable to stop the killing.

The battle lines drawn in this particular battle are not unsurprising, especially given the current politically partisan climate. We are far from a consensus on how best to prevent future mass shootings, but the nation appears to be nearing聽a tipping point where Americans, from lawmakers to journalists, feel that doing something is better than doing nothing.