Here's a link to some regularly updated information on the shooting at the Washington Navy Yard.

I pray for everyone involved. No one should have to go to work and end up in lockdown, or worried that someone we care about is in harm's way.

We keep saying this, but really -- when will we be able to end these sorts of massive shootings?

I wish I knew the answer to that one, Anne. The gun lobby is blocking any sort of sensible legislation regarding background checks. I don't advocate banning guns, but we need to use some common sense.

The bald truth is that we are not going to. We have no idea how, and no political will, to get guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. In fact, a lot of people don't believe in mental illness anyway. So we are stuck.

I have come to see these killings as like drunk drivers. We seldom do anything serious about chronic drunks, either. We're so concerned that we might take away someone's car that we accept the death of others as a trade-off.

Well, it's the same with guns, only more so. We're far more concerned that we might abridge someone's 2nd Amendment rights, so these dead folks are just collateral damage. We already know that criminals have guns. We already know that a lot of people use their guns to kill themselves. We already know that a lot of little kids manage to get killed through the carelessness of their parents (hey, 40 so far this year! Does anyone care? Not really.) We already know that plenty of otherwise law-abiding people snap and kill their loved ones, their coworkers, and strangers. Really, why do we care now?

I think we're all pretty numbed by the senselessness and sameness of these killings, but that's the way it is. I feel very sorry for the friends and families of those who just got shot. But, as to why the killer did it, who cares? This is just this month's killing.

Hey 7 people died in a standoff in a Florida apartment complex last month. See, we have already forgotten.....

I'm afraid you're right, Ellemm. What does that say about our society?

You are correct, of course, Ellemm. But I am still hoping that we will get to a point where we take action. Here's a post from the Washington Post Navy Yard blog that discusses how these shootings bring a call for gun control, but then with time, the drumroll fades.

Well, why don't I be really blunt about it? Nothing will happen -- if ever -- unless we have a Republican president who is seen as proper American and supportive Congress and public. The Democrats already are seen as gun-grabbers and there are times I can understand it.

We have already had 20 shootings that involved at least 4 dead since Obama took office. This is our normal. Frankly, I am cynical. Our care for the mentally ill is deplorable and we're far more concerned about ourselves than anything else. And we now blame the victims on some level because it's easier: they should have been armed, they should have known, they should they should.

You know, there are plenty of folks who think the people who got shot in Aurora during the movie were just sitting ducks and should have been armed. So now you're at fault just for going to the movies. We live in a gun culture and that's it.

By the way, we keep talking about the government coming to take our guns (definitely Obama's plan to rule the world), but now we're talking about how to protect ourselves from each other......

And background checks are not always correct. When private security refuses to listen to the truth and when they prefer to believe lying, scheming con-artists, background checks aren't any good either. All you need is enemies lying about you, and your reputation is shot, even though you're completely innocent. Investigators will focus on everyday, ordinary people and let the terrorists slip through their fingers. And from personal experience, many gov't agencies do nothing and give their workload over to the private companies. Our taxes are paying for zero results.