Because of the dominance and dictatorship of the National Rifle Association, “we have laws no one wants — not cops, not the military, not even most gun owners themselves — except the NRA,” writes The Daily Beast‘s Michael Tomasky.

“Democrats went gun-shy in the 2000s. By 2008, Barack Obama had little to say about gun control, even trying to disavow his signature on a 1996 document signed by some Illinois legislators backing a ban on all handguns. In 2009, there were 65 pro-gun Democrats on Capitol Hill. The lobby owns the GOP, well, lock, stock, and barrel.

“Earlier this year, the Indiana state house passed — with NRA backing — a bill spelling out when citizens could kill police officers. Some prominent military leaders wanted military personnel to be able to discuss gun safety with troops as a way of trying to stem military suicides, many of which are committed with personally owned guns. The NRA was having none of it.

“And so it’s no surprise that Obama and Mitt Romney (who once supported waiting periods and the assault weapons ban) produced mealy-mouthed statements on Friday that didn’t even include the word ‘gun’. Many Democrats from urban districts will continue to oppose the NRA. But the party will continue to quake, shooting after shooting after shooting, bodies upon bodies upon bodies.

“So this will happen again. And again, and again. In fact, as I said above, we are likely headed for a day in this country like the following. At a movie theater, in a mall, at a commuter rail platform, in a restaurant — some glory-seeker opens fire. Most people duck and scatter, but a decent percentage of them produce their pieces. The gunman goes down like Warren Beatty in Bonnie and Clyde, but, since ‘most people’ aren’t marksmen, maybe a few other people do too, and maybe, oh, a three year old.

“But hey. There’s always a spoilage factor. Rights are sacred. From their cold, dead hands…”