View from abroad: Sorrow, but little hope for U.S. gun control

Tim Lister, CNN
Updated 10:36 AM EST, Thu December 20, 2012

Story highlights

Australia and UK also have had terrible episodes of gun violence in recent years

These countries enacted laws sharply restricting gun ownership after tragedies

"Nowhere has the policy reaction been so pathetic," British blogger says of U.S.

Observers point to power of NRA, political culture that protects individual liberty

(CNN) —  

On Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, a line of 26 black crosses stand in the sand, with the Stars and Stripes behind them and a pot of flowers alongside.

They are the tribute of the group Rio de Paz – River of Peace – to the victims at Sandy Hook Elementary School, from a group that knows all too well what tragedies gun violence can inflict on society.

Brazil, Norway, Britain, France and Australia are among many countries that have seen terrible episodes of gun violence in recent years.

But alongside the many expressions of sympathy and condolences that have poured into Newtown, Connecticut, from around the world, there is also a sense of bewilderment that such tragedies happen on an almost routine basis in America.

“Routine” may seem an exaggerated or callous description, but it was President Barack Obama who said at an interfaith service Sunday night in Newtown: “We can’t accept events like this as routine.”

Strangers inspired to honor Newtown victims

Candles burn next to a lighted tree at a makeshift shrine in Newtown, Connecticut, commemorating the victims of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.
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Candles burn next to a lighted tree at a makeshift shrine in Newtown, Connecticut, commemorating the victims of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.
PHOTO: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images
Erica Simmons rings the campus bell at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, during a nationwide commemoration December 21, marking a week since the Newtown, Connecticut, mass shooting. Church bells rang out across the country at 9:30 ET Friday to remember those who died in the gun rampage.
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Erica Simmons rings the campus bell at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, during a nationwide commemoration December 21, marking a week since the Newtown, Connecticut, mass shooting. Church bells rang out across the country at 9:30 ET Friday to remember those who died in the gun rampage.
PHOTO: ERIK S. LESSER/epa/LANDOV
A woman pauses at a streetside memorial during a moment of silence on December 21 in Newtown.
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A woman pauses at a streetside memorial during a moment of silence on December 21 in Newtown.
PHOTO: John Moore/Getty Images
Connecticut State Police block the road to Sandy Hook Elementary School during a moment of silence on December 21. A week ago, a gunman forced his way into the school and shot and killed 26 people, including 20 children.
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Connecticut State Police block the road to Sandy Hook Elementary School during a moment of silence on December 21. A week ago, a gunman forced his way into the school and shot and killed 26 people, including 20 children.
PHOTO: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
A woman bows her head in Newtown
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A woman bows her head in Newtown's Sandy Hook village on December 21.
PHOTO: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
People observe a moment of silence for the school shooting victims at the Blue Colony Diner in Newtown on December 21.
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People observe a moment of silence for the school shooting victims at the Blue Colony Diner in Newtown on December 21.
PHOTO: ERIC THAYER/REUTERS/LANDOV
Children in Newtown, excluding Sandy Hook Elementary, return to classes on Tuesday, December 18, four days after the shooting at the elementary school.
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Children in Newtown, excluding Sandy Hook Elementary, return to classes on Tuesday, December 18, four days after the shooting at the elementary school.
PHOTO: John Moore/Getty Images
U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, D-Rhode Island, holds a news conference with the Brady Campaign to discuss gun violence. In attendance with the Brady Campaign were several survivors of gun violence and family members of victims of gun violence.
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U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, D-Rhode Island, holds a news conference with the Brady Campaign to discuss gun violence. In attendance with the Brady Campaign were several survivors of gun violence and family members of victims of gun violence.
PHOTO: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Members of the human rights group Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption light candles showing the names of those killed during the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, during a prayer vigil in front of the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines on December 18.
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Members of the human rights group Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption light candles showing the names of those killed during the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, during a prayer vigil in front of the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines on December 18.
PHOTO: NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images
Children light candles to pay their respects to the victims of the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting at the main square in Tirana, Albania, on Monday, December 17. The deadly gun rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School has provoked strong reactions from around the world.
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Children light candles to pay their respects to the victims of the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting at the main square in Tirana, Albania, on Monday, December 17. The deadly gun rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School has provoked strong reactions from around the world.
PHOTO: GENT SHKULLAKU/AFP/Getty Images
Protesters march on the National Rifle Association
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Protesters march on the National Rifle Association's Capitol Hill lobbyist offices in Washington on December 17.
PHOTO: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks out for stronger gun control at a press conference at City Hall on December 17. Bloomberg, co-chair of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, was joined by victims and survivors of gun violence.
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New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks out for stronger gun control at a press conference at City Hall on December 17. Bloomberg, co-chair of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, was joined by victims and survivors of gun violence.
PHOTO: John Moore/Getty Images
Chris Foye, whose son Chris Owens was killed by a stray bullet in 2009, stands with other survivors and family members of gun violence at Bloomberg
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Chris Foye, whose son Chris Owens was killed by a stray bullet in 2009, stands with other survivors and family members of gun violence at Bloomberg's press conference on December 17 in New York.
PHOTO: John Moore/Getty Images
People pay their respects on December 17 at a makeshift shrine in Newtown to the victims of Friday
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People pay their respects on December 17 at a makeshift shrine in Newtown to the victims of Friday's elementary school shooting. Funerals began Monday in the Connecticut town.
PHOTO: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange hold a moment of silence on December 17 in honor of the shooting victims.
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Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange hold a moment of silence on December 17 in honor of the shooting victims.
PHOTO: Andrew Burton/Getty Images
Young people mourn at Newtown High School before a memorial service attended by President Obama on Sunday, December 16.
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Young people mourn at Newtown High School before a memorial service attended by President Obama on Sunday, December 16.
PHOTO: Evelio Contreras/CNN
President Barack Obama waits to speak at an interfaith vigil for the shooting victims from Sandy Hook Elementary School December 16 at Newtown High School.
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President Barack Obama waits to speak at an interfaith vigil for the shooting victims from Sandy Hook Elementary School December 16 at Newtown High School.
PHOTO: Olivier Douliery/Getty Images
Mourners comfort one another December 16 before U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at an interfaith vigil for the shooting victims.
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Mourners comfort one another December 16 before U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at an interfaith vigil for the shooting victims.
PHOTO: Olivier Douliery/Getty Images
Two women embrace before the interfaith vigil at Newtown High School on Sunday evening.
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Two women embrace before the interfaith vigil at Newtown High School on Sunday evening.
PHOTO: Olivier Douliery/Getty Images
From left: Newtown residents Claire Swanson, Kate Suba, Jaden Albrecht, Simran Chand and New London, Connecticut, residents Rachel Pullen and her son, Landon DeCecco, hold candles at a memorial for victims on Sunday, December 16, in Newtown, Connecticut.
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From left: Newtown residents Claire Swanson, Kate Suba, Jaden Albrecht, Simran Chand and New London, Connecticut, residents Rachel Pullen and her son, Landon DeCecco, hold candles at a memorial for victims on Sunday, December 16, in Newtown, Connecticut.
PHOTO: Mario Tama/Getty Images
A young boy walks past Christmas trees set up at a makeshift shrine to the shooting victims in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 16.
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A young boy walks past Christmas trees set up at a makeshift shrine to the shooting victims in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 16.
PHOTO: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images
Ty Diaz is kissed by his mother, Yvette, at a memorial down the street from Sandy Hook on December 16.
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Ty Diaz is kissed by his mother, Yvette, at a memorial down the street from Sandy Hook on December 16.
PHOTO: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Teddy bears, flowers and candles in memory of those killed are left at a memorial down the street from the school on December 16.
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Teddy bears, flowers and candles in memory of those killed are left at a memorial down the street from the school on December 16.
PHOTO: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Two teenagers embrace at a makeshift shrine to the victims in Newtown on December 16.
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Two teenagers embrace at a makeshift shrine to the victims in Newtown on December 16.
PHOTO: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images
Nuns pay their respects at a makeshift shrine to the victims on December 16.
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Nuns pay their respects at a makeshift shrine to the victims on December 16.
PHOTO: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images
Members of Sisters of Christian Charity go to lay flowers in front of the Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 16 in Newtown.
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Members of Sisters of Christian Charity go to lay flowers in front of the Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 16 in Newtown.
PHOTO: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A woman receives a hug as she leaves morning service December 16 at Trinity Church in Newtown near the elementary school.
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A woman receives a hug as she leaves morning service December 16 at Trinity Church in Newtown near the elementary school.
PHOTO: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Parishioners pay their respects to the victims of the elementary school shooting while attending Mass at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown on December 16.
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Parishioners pay their respects to the victims of the elementary school shooting while attending Mass at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown on December 16.
PHOTO: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images
Police officers honor the victims of the school shooting at the St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church on December 16 in Newtown.
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Police officers honor the victims of the school shooting at the St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church on December 16 in Newtown.
PHOTO: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images
The Jacksonville Jaguars have a moment of silence in honor of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims before their game against the Miami Dolphins on December 16.
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The Jacksonville Jaguars have a moment of silence in honor of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims before their game against the Miami Dolphins on December 16.
PHOTO: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
A parishioner kneels in front of a makeshift memorial at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown on December 16.
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A parishioner kneels in front of a makeshift memorial at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown on December 16.
PHOTO: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images
A police officer removes flowers from a busy intersection on December 16 in Newtown. Police said they were afraid the memorial, left for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, would cause a traffic hazard.
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A police officer removes flowers from a busy intersection on December 16 in Newtown. Police said they were afraid the memorial, left for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, would cause a traffic hazard.
PHOTO: DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images
A woman hugs her daughter on the steps of Trinity Church on December 16 in Newtown.
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A woman hugs her daughter on the steps of Trinity Church on December 16 in Newtown.
PHOTO: DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images
Angel wood cutouts for each of the 27 victims are set up on hillside in Newtown on December 16.
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Angel wood cutouts for each of the 27 victims are set up on hillside in Newtown on December 16.
PHOTO: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images
People in Bangalore, India, hold cards and photographs of the slain at a candlelight vigil outside a Catholic church on December 16.
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People in Bangalore, India, hold cards and photographs of the slain at a candlelight vigil outside a Catholic church on December 16.
PHOTO: EPA/STR /LANDOV
J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans shows his glove in remembrance of the victims before the start of a game against the Indianapolis Colts on December 16 in Houston.
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J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans shows his glove in remembrance of the victims before the start of a game against the Indianapolis Colts on December 16 in Houston.
PHOTO: Scott Halleran/Getty Images
Donna Soto, right, mother of Victoria Soto, the first-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School who was shot and killed while protecting her students, hugs her daughter Karly while mourning their loss at a candlelight memorial at Stratford High School on Saturday, December 15, in Stratford, Connecticut.
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Donna Soto, right, mother of Victoria Soto, the first-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School who was shot and killed while protecting her students, hugs her daughter Karly while mourning their loss at a candlelight memorial at Stratford High School on Saturday, December 15, in Stratford, Connecticut.
PHOTO: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images
Firefighters kneel to pay their respects at a makeshift memorial near the school in Newtown on Saturday.
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Reaction to Newtown school killings —  
Firefighters kneel to pay their respects at a makeshift memorial near the school in Newtown on Saturday.
PHOTO: Mario Tama/Getty Images
A child lights a candle at a memorial filled with flowers, stuffed toys and candles outside of Saint Rose of Lima Church near Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on Saturday.
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A child lights a candle at a memorial filled with flowers, stuffed toys and candles outside of Saint Rose of Lima Church near Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on Saturday.
PHOTO: John Angelillo/UPI/LANDOV
Candles light up a memorial outside of Saint Rose of Lima Church in Newtown.
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Candles light up a memorial outside of Saint Rose of Lima Church in Newtown.
PHOTO: John Angelillo/UPI/LANDOV
Lucas, Kelly and Michael DaSilva pray and embrace at a makeshift memorial near the school in Newtown.
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Lucas, Kelly and Michael DaSilva pray and embrace at a makeshift memorial near the school in Newtown.
PHOTO: Mario Tama/Getty Images
People are overcome with emotion Saturday at a makeshift memorial near Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.
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People are overcome with emotion Saturday at a makeshift memorial near Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.
PHOTO: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Residents arrive Saturday to pay tribute to the victims of an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
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Reaction to Newtown school killings —  
Residents arrive Saturday to pay tribute to the victims of an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
PHOTO: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images
A couple carry balloons to place at a curbside shrine to in Newtown on Saturday.
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A couple carry balloons to place at a curbside shrine to in Newtown on Saturday.
PHOTO: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images
A mother and daughter attend a prayer service at St. John
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A mother and daughter attend a prayer service at St. John's Episcopal Church in Newtown on Saturday.
Flowers and signs of sympathy adorn the street leading to Sandy Hook Elementary School.
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Flowers and signs of sympathy adorn the street leading to Sandy Hook Elementary School.
PHOTO: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Claudia Urbiana and daughter Jocelyne Cardenas, left, hug outside of the entrance to the Sandy Hook school.
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Claudia Urbiana and daughter Jocelyne Cardenas, left, hug outside of the entrance to the Sandy Hook school.
PHOTO: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A makeshift memorial with flowers, stuffed toys and candles sit outside Saint Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown, Connecticut, on Saturday.
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A makeshift memorial with flowers, stuffed toys and candles sit outside Saint Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown, Connecticut, on Saturday.
PHOTO: JOSHUA LOTT/reuters/LANDOV
A man bows his head as he stands at a makeshift memorial, outside Saint Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown on Saturday, December 15.
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A man bows his head as he stands at a makeshift memorial, outside Saint Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown on Saturday, December 15.
PHOTO: JOSHUA LOTT/reuters/LANDOV
New Jersey resident Steve Wruble, who was moved to drive out to Connecticut to support local residents, grieves for victims at the entrance to Sandy Hook village in Newtown on Saturday.
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New Jersey resident Steve Wruble, who was moved to drive out to Connecticut to support local residents, grieves for victims at the entrance to Sandy Hook village in Newtown on Saturday.
PHOTO: ADREES LATIF/reuters/LANDOV
People attend a prayer service in Newtown on Saturday to reflect.
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People attend a prayer service in Newtown on Saturday to reflect.
PHOTO: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A mother hugs her children after paying tribute to the victims in Newtown on Saturday, December 15.
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A mother hugs her children after paying tribute to the victims in Newtown on Saturday, December 15.
PHOTO: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images
Newtown High School student Trevor Lopez stands outside of a church where residents have come to pray and reflect on Saturday
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Newtown High School student Trevor Lopez stands outside of a church where residents have come to pray and reflect on Saturday
PHOTO: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Andrea Jaeger places flowers and a candle at a makeshift memorial outside a firehouse near Sandy Hook Elementary School on Saturday.
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Andrea Jaeger places flowers and a candle at a makeshift memorial outside a firehouse near Sandy Hook Elementary School on Saturday.
PHOTO: Mario Tama/Getty Images
The U.S. flag flies at half-staff above the White House on Saturday.
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The U.S. flag flies at half-staff above the White House on Saturday.
PHOTO: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
Ken Kowalsky and his daughter Rebecca, 13, embrace while standing at the end of the road leading to Sandy Hook Elementary School on Saturday.
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Ken Kowalsky and his daughter Rebecca, 13, embrace while standing at the end of the road leading to Sandy Hook Elementary School on Saturday.
PHOTO: JUSTIN LANE/epa/LANDOV
A woman puts a flower near crosses planted by Rio de Paz (Rio of Peace), in memory of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.
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A woman puts a flower near crosses planted by Rio de Paz (Rio of Peace), in memory of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.
PHOTO: SERGIO MORAES/reuters/LANDOV
A woman sits during a service at the Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford, Connecticut on Friday, December 14.
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A woman sits during a service at the Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford, Connecticut on Friday, December 14.
PHOTO: Michael McAndrews/Hartford Courant/MCT via Getty Images
Fans at the NBA game between the Utah Jazz and the Phoenix Suns participate in a moment of silence for the victims of the Newtown shooting on Friday in Phoenix.
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Fans at the NBA game between the Utah Jazz and the Phoenix Suns participate in a moment of silence for the victims of the Newtown shooting on Friday in Phoenix.
PHOTO: Christian Petersen/Getty Images
An overflow crowd listens to a church service held at the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Newtown on December 14.
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An overflow crowd listens to a church service held at the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Newtown on December 14.
PHOTO: Andrew Lichtenstein/For The Washington Post via Getty Images
People gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose Church on Friday.
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People gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose Church on Friday.
PHOTO: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images
People gather for a vigil outside the White House in Washington following the Connecticut elementary school shooting on Friday.
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People gather for a vigil outside the White House in Washington following the Connecticut elementary school shooting on Friday.
PHOTO: MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/Getty Images
Candles burn as people gather for a vigil outside the White House.
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Candles burn as people gather for a vigil outside the White House.
PHOTO: MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/Getty Images
Hartford, Connecticut, Mayor Padro Segarra speaks emotionally about the students and teachers who died earlier in the day at Sandy Hook Elementary School in nearby Newtown at a candlelight vigil at Bushnell Park in Hartford on Friday.
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Hartford, Connecticut, Mayor Padro Segarra speaks emotionally about the students and teachers who died earlier in the day at Sandy Hook Elementary School in nearby Newtown at a candlelight vigil at Bushnell Park in Hartford on Friday.
PHOTO: Michael McAndrews/Hartford Courant/MCT/getty images
Cynthia Alvarez is comforted by her mother, Lilia, as people gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown.
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Cynthia Alvarez is comforted by her mother, Lilia, as people gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown.
PHOTO: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images
People gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose Church in Newtown.
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People gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose Church in Newtown.
PHOTO: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images
People gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose Church.
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People gather for a prayer vigil at St. Rose Church.
People gather inside the St. Rose Church to remember the shooting victims on Friday
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People gather inside the St. Rose Church to remember the shooting victims on Friday
PHOTO: Andrew Gombert/Getty Images
A woman bows her head during a vigil for the shooting victims at St. Rose Church.
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A woman bows her head during a vigil for the shooting victims at St. Rose Church.
PHOTO: Andrew Gombert/Getty Images
People gather in the St. Rose Church for a memorial service Friday.
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People gather in the St. Rose Church for a memorial service Friday.
PHOTO: Andrew Gombert/Getty Images
Women comfort each other during the vigil at St. Rose Church.
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Women comfort each other during the vigil at St. Rose Church.
PHOTO: Andrew Gombert/Getty Images
A woman looks on during the vigil at St. Rose Church.
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A woman looks on during the vigil at St. Rose Church.
PHOTO: Andrew Gombert/Getty Images
People hug outside of the Newtown United Methodist Church on Friday, near the site of the shootings at the Sandy Hook school.
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People hug outside of the Newtown United Methodist Church on Friday, near the site of the shootings at the Sandy Hook school.
PHOTO: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images
A flag at the U.S. Capitol flies at half-staff after President Barack Obama ordered the action while speaking from the White House. Obama called for "meaningful action" in the wake of the school shooting.
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A flag at the U.S. Capitol flies at half-staff after President Barack Obama ordered the action while speaking from the White House. Obama called for "meaningful action" in the wake of the school shooting.
PHOTO: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Julie Henson of San Francisco joins other people outside the White House to participate in a candlelight vigil on Friday.
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Julie Henson of San Francisco joins other people outside the White House to participate in a candlelight vigil on Friday.
PHOTO: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Obama wipes tears as he makes a statement in response to the shooting on Friday.
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Obama wipes tears as he makes a statement in response to the shooting on Friday.
PHOTO: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Washington resident Rachel Perrone, left, and her 5-year-old son, Joe, center, join others outside the White House in a candlelight vigil.
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Washington resident Rachel Perrone, left, and her 5-year-old son, Joe, center, join others outside the White House in a candlelight vigil.
PHOTO: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Faisal Ali, right, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, joins the vigil outside the White House.
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Faisal Ali, right, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, joins the vigil outside the White House.
PHOTO: Alex Wong/Getty Images
People gather outside the White House to participate in a candlelight vigil.
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People gather outside the White House to participate in a candlelight vigil.
PHOTO: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Supporters of gun control hold a candlelight vigil for victims of the shooting outside the White House.
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Supporters of gun control hold a candlelight vigil for victims of the shooting outside the White House.
PHOTO: MICHAEL REYNOLDS/epa/LANDOV

Even so, commentaries from abroad often include a sense of resignation that not much can or will be done to prevent such atrocities in the future.

John Cassidy, who is British and blogs for The New Yorker, writes of driving to his hometown of Leeds in northern England, as he heard the news of the killings at Sandy Hook.

“Nowhere have mass shootings been as prevalent as the United States, and nowhere has the policy reaction been so pathetic,” he wrote this weekend.

Brian Masters, writing in the UK’s Daily Telegraph, agreed.

“No American politician will have the nerve to propose the only cure to this repetitive insanity, which would be a sensible, mature and responsible attitude towards the ownership and use of guns,” he predicted.

In the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, commentator Tzipi Shmilovitz was more brutal.

“America is not ready to talk about how it is easier to get a handgun than it is to see a doctor, not ready to speak about the video games that have extreme violence. It is just willing to sweep up everything under the carpet of tears.”

And over at Haaretz, one of Israel’s leading commentators, Chemi Shalev, lamented a “combustible mix of angry American young men, often disturbed and usually white, spurred on by the pervasive and always growing presence of limitless violence in popular American culture, together with the easy-access, open market of guns and ammo, which together produce these shooting slaughters with such sickening regularity. …

“And if you pour in the often gruesome violence so rampant in the computer and video games that so many American boys are weaned on and addicted to, it should come as no surprise, perhaps, that not only are the most evil and inhuman of mass murders possible, they may soon become commonplace,” he added.

Such observations are not new. Five years ago Chris Lockwood, U.S. editor of The Economist wrote in the Los Angeles Times: “We might be a little surprised that a country with all the ingenuity and energy that America has seems simply to throw up its hands when it comes to guns, and in effect declares that the homicide rate and regular appalling school massacres, are insolvable problems.”

Obama has now suggested otherwise – broadening his existing support for a ban on assault weapons.

“We can’t tolerate this anymore; these tragedies must end,” he said Sunday.

“We will be told that the causes are complex and that is true. No single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil and prevent acts of violence, but that can’t be an excuse for inaction,” he continued.

Dunblane: How UK school massacre led to tighter gun control

Commentators and academics from other countries who have looked at this “inaction” in America often raise the following points.

The polarization in U.S. politics means that on the really difficult issues, paralysis is more likely than progress. The power of lobbying interests – and in the case of guns that means the National Rifle Association – contributes to that paralysis, they say.

They also assert that the U.S. Constitution and its political culture protects individual liberty – or license – to a much greater degree than is the case almost anywhere else. That includes allowing the ownership of powerful firearms capable of killing dozens within a minute.

Sixteen years ago, both Australia and the United Kingdom saw gun rampages similar to those at Virginia Tech, the Sikh temple in Wisconsin, the theater in Aurora, Colorado, and Sandy Hook.

More: How other countries have dealt with massacres

In the town of Dunblane, Scotland, 16 children and one adult were shot dead at an elementary school in 1996. The gunman then shot himself. The atrocity led to revisions to the Firearms Act that in effect banned the possession of handguns in Britain.

Jack Straw, the minister who pushed the legislation through Parliament, said after the Sandy Hook killings that he would “not put money” on U.S. laws changing.

In a BBC interview, Straw added: “I think sensible people want it to happen, but the National Rifle Association, which is this extraordinary gun lobby and gun manufacturers’ lobby, controls politics in a number of states.”

One tweet put it more bluntly: “Dunblane,1996. 16 dead kids+adult. 1.2 million sign petitions. UK govt. enacts new law. Halts private guns. Tag, USA. You’re It.”

In that same year, a 28-year old Australian killed 35 people with two semiautomatic rifles in just eight minutes. Then-Prime Minister John Howard pushed through a law that banned assault weapons and instituted a gun buy-back policy. (Some 650,000 were taken out of circulation.)

Howard recalls telling an audience in Texas in 2008 that the law was among his proudest achievements in 12 years as prime minister.

“There was an audible gasp of amazement,” he wrote in an op-ed this year in The Sydney Morning Herald.

After the mass shooting in Aurora this year, Howard said he was not optimistic it would change anything.

“The responses of President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney … were as predictable as they were disappointing,” he said.

“There are many American traits which we Australians could well emulate to our great benefit. But when it comes to guns we have been right to take a radically different path,” Howard concluded.

Australian-born media magnate Rupert Murdoch chimed in Saturday on his Twitter account: “When will politicians find courage to ban automatic weapons? As in Oz after similar tragedy.”

Some columnists don’t detect any popular pressure in the United States for change, even if the gun control debate has flared in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting.

Mirjam Remie, who writes for the Dutch newspaper Handelsblad, observes that “support for stricter gun laws has been steadily declining for decades. According to Gallup, it is 44%, but twelve years ago it was 66%.”

Debate rages about the relationship between the availability of guns in society and the number of deaths caused by guns. But the laws enacted in the UK and Australia sharply restricting gun ownership do appear to have made a difference.

A study (PDF) by researchers at Harvard University in 2011 found that in the 18 years before the new law was enacted in Australia, a total of 13 gun attacks had led to four or more fatalities. In the 16 years since the new law, the number was zero. Individual homicides involving guns have also fallen.

Japan has some of the most restrictive regulations in the world on gun ownership. Shotgun licenses for hunting require a lengthy application; handguns are forbidden. Homicides by gunfire in Japan rarely get into double figures in a year.

In the view of author David Kopel, who has studied Japan’s gun control laws in great detail, its regulations work because they are “part of a vast mosaic of social control … a pervasive cultural theme that the individual is subordinate to society and to the government.”

That would not be acceptable in the United States. Even so, while recognizing the power of the Second Amendment, foreign commentators are not shy of recommending what could and should be done to tackle gun violence in the U.S.

In the UK, The Guardian editorialized in the wake of the Newtown shootings: “A proper federal system of regulation, including background checks registration, and limits on the type and number of weapons an individual can own, would bring the U.S. belatedly into line with other civilized countries, as would a determined push back against state legislation allowing the carrying of concealed weapons in public.”

Hours before the Sandy Hook massacre, Michigan lawmakers passed legislation allowing those with concealed pistol licenses to carry guns into schools, hospitals and churches among other places.

In the words of one commentator: “No society that holds itself up as an example to the world should, as the United States does, brazenly shrug off what are clearly deep national character flaws when it comes to our love of guns or our celebration of hate politics.”

The writer was not a foreigner, but an American – David Rothkopf – writing in Foreign Policy. And he was writing not this weekend, but after Jared Loughner shot and killed six people, and injured more than a dozen, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, in January 2011.