For those who have lived through mass shootings, and for the law enforcement officers trying to prevent them, the answer is self-evident. The causes of mass shootings are as disparate as the cases themselves, but those involved in other tragedies couldn't help but feel the similarities. That includes semi-automatic rifles like the Orlando gunman's AR-15, a common denominator in many of the worst recent mass shootings: Newtown, Aurora, San Bernardino, to name a few. That measure collapsed in the Senate, and since then, the political makeup of Congress has made new gun laws appear out of reach. "Because we allow it," said Sandy Phillips, whose daughter was among 12 killed at Colorado movie theater in July 2012.

Source: ABC News June 13, 2016 05:25 UTC