Gun violence: A US scourge that refuses to die

New legal test

The court also established a new legal test. Gun laws now must be judged based on the "text, history and tradition" of the Second Amendment. What did the amendment mean to the founders, where did they think the right to bear arms originated and how did they apply it?

Gun rights advocates say the high court's decision in the New York case has opened the door to overturning many other gun restrictions in states. However, gun safety advocates say the court's ruling was limited in scope and still allows states to regulate types of firearms, where people can carry firearms and the permitting process includes requirements for background checks and training.

The Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, called the court's decision "a monumental setback", but a little more than a week after the ruling she signed a measure into law that establishes a strict process to obtain a concealed carry permit and restricts the locations where people can carry firearms, including in government buildings and schools. That law is now being challenged in court.

The Supreme Court decision came one day before Congress passed a bipartisan compromise aimed at stopping dangerous people from obtaining firearms, ending nearly 30 years of congressional inaction over how to counter gun violence and toughen the nation's gun laws.

The last significant federal gun control legislation was passed in 1994, banning the manufacture for civilian use of assault rifles and large-capacity magazines, but it expired 10 years later.

Although polls indicate that most US citizens support gun control efforts, many Republicans in Congress represent states with large pro-gun communities. Despite that, the gun bill received bipartisan support in the House of Representative and the Senate. The House approved the measure one month to the day after the shooting in Uvalde.

"After 28 years of inaction, bipartisan members of Congress came together to heed the call of families across the country and passed legislation to address the scourge of gun violence in our communities," President Joe Biden said.

The bill he signed imposes tougher checks on young buyers and encourages states to remove guns from those considered a threat. It provides $15 billion in federal funding for mental health programs and school security upgrades and funding to encourage states to implement so-called red flag laws to remove firearms from those considered a threat. It also closes the so-called boyfriend loophole by blocking gun sales to those convicted of abusing an unmarried partner.

On the 10th anniversary of the Sandy Hook massacre, Biden said the US "should have societal guilt" for the slow pace of action on restricting access to firearms. He renewed his call for a ban on assault-style weapons such as the one used in the Sandy Hook shooting, as well as high-capacity magazines.

Biden was vice-president when the shooting occurred and was tapped by then President Barack Obama to lead an ill-fated effort to tighten gun laws.

Two days after the shooting, Obama went to Newtown, where he met some of the families of those killed and spoke at a prayer vigil to try to console a grieving nation.

On the 10th anniversary of the massacre he recalled the tragedy.

"The news from Sandy Hook was devastating, a visceral blow, and like so many others, I felt not just sorrow but anger at a world that could allow such things to happen. I still consider Dec 14, 2012, the single darkest day of my presidency."