During his two terms as president, Mr Obama has witnessed growing gun violence in the US and yet he has been powerless to defeat the ever-powerful National Rifle Association. The NRA pours millions of dollars annually into its campaign of defending the right of Americans to bear arms. This latest killing of 50 people, and 53 injured, by a gunman in Orlando, Florida, will undoubtedly lead to calls for more people to own guns.
The traditional argument has always been, if the victims were armed, they could have saved many lives. Really? In a crowded nightclub people should have been enjoying their night out rather than having to worry about whether they lived or died. This is a hate crime against gay people through and through. The world has witnessed young black men gunned down where they stand. Now, the world is watching a large group of Hispanic people gunned down because of their sexual orientation. Islamic State has repeatedly executed gay people and released videos showing the gruesome executions. Mateen's father said his son had become enraged while seeing two men kiss in front of his wife and children. His reaction will have legions of researchers pondering what triggers such a horrific response to a simple act of love.
Much has been made of the so-called links the gunman had to Islamic State, although officials say it is too early to confirm the links to any terrorist group. Nihad Awad, the leader of the US Muslim group CAIR, strongly condemned the Orlando massacre, saying the killer does not represent the Islamic faith. "This is a hate crime, plain and simple. We condemn it in the strongest possible terms. We will not give in to hate. We will not give in to fear.''
Senator Dick Durbin, of Illinois, called for Congress to pass a new gun control law or the legislative body will be "complicit in the next killing''. The bottom line is dangerous people are allowed to buy guns in America and it has to change. Islamic State's news agency says the militant group is responsible for the shooting. The armed attack of a gay nightclub was carried
out by an Islamic State fighter,
the agency says.
The US faces a growing threat of home-grown terrorism. With guns so easy to acquire, radicalised young Muslims do not need to travel to the Middle East to be martyrs to the cause of Islam. They can do it from their front rooms.
Republican presumptive presidential candidate Donald Trump wants to build a wall to stop Mexicans entering the US and also wants to stop Muslims from arriving in America. He has been roundly condemned before this latest attack, but after the death of so many in Orlando, the criticism reached new heights.
The powerful NRA has, in the past, stopped the campaigns of candidates opposed to its aims in their tracks. Mr Trump has taken to social media to say his calls to ban Muslims is the right one and to criticise Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton for refusing to say the words "radical Islamists''. The fear factor has emerged in the presidential campaign.
The FBI has been reported as earlier investigating Mateen but because he showed no "triggers'', he slipped off the grid. America has enormous resources to use to identify likely terrorism subjects around the world, even bringing in New Zealand through the Five Eyes programme. Yet, it fails to identify the threat in its own communities.
No-one can feel safe while America takes such a relaxed and irresponsible attitude for its citizens' right to bear arms. Killings will increase as tensions mount and the rest of the world can only watch in despair, horror and alarm.
