Barely a month has passed since 20 children aged 6 and 7 were killed in their classrooms at Sandy Hook elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. It is also disturbing that for many children in the United States, such gun-related violence has long been a sad fact of life due to structural poverty, economic decline, and crime.

One of the most popular calls for action in the wake of this tragedy is for more gun control. In fact, President Obama has just released a plan to reduce gun violence.

According to a poll conducted by the New York Times and CBS, these shootings in particular have heavily swayed US public opinion towards stricter gun control laws. Other sources show similar support for gun control and the National Rifle Association has been upfront in their opposition.

Some facts on gun control:

• The United States has the highest gun murder…