"Paris, where 130 individuals were gunned down in 2015, has some of the world's most stringent firearms restrictions. So does Chicago, where 519 persons have been murdered already this year.

The humane response to the tragedy visited upon Las Vegas is not legislation but consolation, for both victims and survivors. Politicians are unable to stop mass murder because the black heart responsible for the finger that pulls the trigger occupies a dark place beyond the reach of reason. If law alone could govern the actions of mankind, a law comprised of only four short words would have been enough: "Thou shalt not kill.""