The news from Orlando this past weekend was heartbreaking and, as incredibly depressing as the mass murder of 49 patrons of the Pulse club by a man so consumed with hatred of gay people (and a possible link to ISIS), the news could have been even worse…

Police identify L.A. Pride weapons suspect as James Wesley Howell

Mr. Howell is 20 year old Indiana man who was stopped and found to be carrying rifles, ammunition, and explosives and who stated he was going to that gay pride event for reasons unknown…though given what he was carrying one can’t be blamed for assuming the very worst.

Reactions to the event vary of course.  And it didn’t take long for some to blame…Obama?!

Fox News Commentator Blames Orlando Shooting on Obama

Sigh.

It’s like we go from extreme tragedy to high comedy (or just plain lunacy) within a single day and before the victims’ bodies get cold.

I never understood the allure of weapons.  I never understood the need to hoard them and the paranoia bred by “protecting” the right to keep them in all forms, even when the weapon, in this case an AR-15, is nothing more than a killing machine.

Will we ever get a break?  Will common sense regulations ever take hold?

Will people ever get fed up enough to vote those who protect guns more rabidly than they do human beings out of office?

I really hope so.