A birthday party of youngsters in Alabama on April 15 took a tragic turn when someone pulled out a gun and began shooting; 20 people got hit, six of whom died. The same day, Louisville in Kentucky saw its third fatal shooting in a week, leaving two people dead and four injured. The night before, several gunners fired at two lads in Chicago, killing one.

It is time society in the United States woke up to the reality that loose gun control laws are to blame for so many lives lost. Whether or not there is a need to implement stricter gun control laws is a test of society's courage there. It is not going to be easy though, given that some high-profile politicians openly oppose gun control.

Despite these tragedies, it was business as usual for the US National Rifle Association, which organized its three-day annual meeting in Indianapolis recently. At the meet, gun rights activist and NRA chief executive Wayne Lapierre asserted that their organization can play a major role in the 2024 presidential election.

That is not surprising given that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans have a clear stand on gun control, as there are supporters and critics of the same in both parties, while it is a matter of life and death for the innocent people whose only fault is that they are living in the US.

Lapierre's observation only shows how much political support those opposing gun control enjoy. With so many vested interests involved, such as the powerful gun lobby, the laws cannot be just wished away.

If the lobby has its way, it might one day totally suppress gun control efforts, leading to everyone roaming the streets of the US with a gun in hand. It will then be difficult to tell the US from war-torn Ukraine. If guns have a free run on the streets, people surely can't.