American president Barack Obama was described as “visibly angry” as he made another plea for changes to gun control in the wake of the shooting.

But will anybody listen?

“It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun,” he said.

In another outbreak of political bipartisanship yesterday, federal acting opposition leader Tanya Plibersek said Australians should not forget former prime minister John Howard’s “courageous and successful efforts on gun control”.

“We must remain vigilant in defence of the laws that have protected us and saved lives,” she said in a statement.

Ms Plibersek need not worry too much about Australians forgetting about Mr Howard’s actions, because each new tragedy in America is a reminder of what has been saved in our country and what is being lost in that nation.

Mr Howard copped plenty of criticism at the time of the changes to gun laws, but surely the years since have proved him to be correct.

America likes to think of itself as a leader on the world stage, but it would appear to have been left behind – left well behind – on the simple matter of keeping its citizens safe.

So will anybody listen this time?

We’ll just have to wait and see.