Brent Scowcroft Center Senior Adviser Harlan Ullman writes for UPI on the aftermath of the attacks in Paris on the newspaper Charlie Hebdo:
As France grieves over the cold-blooded murders of twelve of its journalists in Paris (and the subsequent grocery store shoot out), the larger question is what consequences, if any, will arise from these outrages. Aside from widespread vigils and demonstrations against these atrocities, little real action may follow. Recent events suggest why rhetoric often dominates response.
Just over two years ago, twenty children were mown down in the otherwise peaceful town of Sandy Hook, Connecticut. That despicable act triggered massive protests across America calling for gun control and greater restrictions on firearms. Euphemistically called “gun safety,” after many other school and mall shootings, the time for action to control gun violence finally seemed to have come.