Oklahoma congressmen say fault for mass shootings falls on Hollywood, video games and societal ills

In a recurring cycle that has come to define modern American politics, a mass murder is followed by a plea for congressional legislation, followed by opposition to such legislation and, in nearly all cases, governmental inaction.

The question of what, if anything, Congress should do after 17 students were murdered at a Florida high school on Feb. 15 has divided the American electorate, as it did after 58 people were killed at a Las Vegas concert last October and 26 were killed at a Texas church in November.

For members of Congress from Oklahoma, all of whom are conservative Republicans, answers lie in slight modifications to existing gun laws, the healing of societal ills and religion.

Rep. Steve Russell, of Oklahoma City, owns a small rifle manufacturing company. In a newsletter to constituents a day after the Florida high school shooting, he wrote that “while it is important to discuss the implements and devices used to carry out these heinous acts, we cannot get to a solution simply by going after the tools."

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