The United States of America is in mourning again. Six days after Atlanta, ten people were done to death in a grocery store, named King Soopers, in Boulder, Colorado.

Thus has the loop of mass shootings lengthened. The nationality of the victims, not to forget the colour of the skin ~ the usual provocation ~ is as yet unknown  Of paramount interest to the people of the country must now be the dire imperative of gun control, which has not attained fruition for decades and via several Presidents.

President Joe Biden, who had contested the election last November using gun control as his campaign plank, has signaled that he is ready to sign the bills pertaining to the prevention of  “gun violence” into law. On March 11, the House of Representatives passed the Thompson and Clyburn’s background check bills once again.

Senator Chris Murphy who introduced the companion bill to Republican Thompson’s bill, is tasked with passing the bill in the Senate. Without eliminating the filibuster, this legislation will require 10 Republicans to join 50 Democrats to support the bill, a herculean challenge in so partisan a political environment that 43 Senate Republicans refused to convict Donald Trump for inciting unprecedented insurrection against the United States.

This is a forbidding challenge. The bills on the background check and the ban on assault weapons were signed into law more than 27 years ago, the last time Congress passed a meaningful gun control bill. With 253-plus voter suppression bills in 43 states, Republicans are only interested in regaining power that serves the interests of the corporate gun lobby.

It bears recall that the gun violence prevention movement has over time worked tirelessly to secure a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House. It is time for Democratic senators to reform the rules to force a vote on measures to prevent life-saving gun violence prevention measures.

The Oval Office must not squander this opportunity to take meaningful action to end the crisis ignited by gun violence.  Without ending the Senate filibuster, public safety policies with broad American support will not reach President Biden’s desk. The risk of the nation witnessing more of the tragic deaths, as in  Atlanta and Colorado, not to forget St Bernadino and Ferguson among many more, is dangerously real.

If indeed President Biden executes the legislation on gun control,  it will rank as a signal achievement of his presidency. Mass shootings must end. The United States keeps its fingers crossed. Besides Congress, much will of course hinge on the White House. The dithering on the part of former Presidents doesn’t inspire optimism.