A massacre at the Navy Yard | The Week

President Obama ordered a sweeping review of security-clearance procedures after this week’s deadly shooting rampage at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., carried out by a military

contractor who had access to the complex despite a history of severe mental illness and gun violence. Aaron Alexis killed 12 people in the mass shooting before being shot dead by police. The

computer technician had Defense Department clearance even though he’d been arrested at least twice in gun-related incidents and had told police as recently as August that he was hearing

voices. The shooting prompted Obama to renew his call for gun-control legislation, but he acknowledged that consensus was unlikely. “I do get concerned that this becomes a ritual that we go

through every three, four months,” said Obama. “And yet we’re not willing to take some basic actions that we know would make a difference.” “It’s all happened before,” said DAVID FRUM in

_THEDAILYBEAST.COM_, and “it’ll certainly happen again.” Columbine, Virginia Tech, Newtown—now the Washington Navy Yard. That list will only grow until we address our gun problem. We can’t

ban weapons, but we must regulate them. Over the last three decades we’ve improved automotive safety while upholding legitimate rights. Why not do the same with guns? New laws won’t make the

slightest bit of difference, said CHARLES C.W. COOKE in _NATIONALREVIEW.COM_. Obama could have pushed through every gun provision he covets, and the Navy Yard shooting “would nonetheless

have happened exactly as it did.” Alexis had passed a background check, and used a shotgun—not an assault rifle—bought from a licensed dealer and a pistol he took off the dead. Nothing can

stop a sick person on a mission. SUBSCRIBE TO THE WEEK Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives. SUBSCRIBE & SAVE SIGN UP FOR THE

WEEK'S FREE NEWSLETTERS From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a

weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. The worst thing about this week’s slaughter is that it’s become “practically routine,” said PETULA

DVORAK in _WASHINGTONPOST.COM_. We’re so used to massacres that Alexis’s gun rampage barely raised a shrug. But we can’t allow ourselves to accept such awful bloodshed to become part of

American culture. “Apple pie, baseball, and mass shootings? No.” A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com Explore More Main

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