U.S. partisan divide on guns grows larger with each tragedy: The Hill

WASHINGTON, June 7 (Xinhua) -- The chasm between U.S. congressional lawmakers over the gun issue has deepened after each mass shooting, The Hill recently reported.

Democrats believe there should be "fewer guns in fewer hands," for the sake of protecting the public from violent outbursts they consider preventable, according to the report.

Republicans, however, are more likely to view gun rights as sacrosanct and any effort to restrict them as unconstitutional. "Their answer to the latest massacre is not fewer guns but more of them, particularly in schools," the report said.

The impasse has meant that thousands of mass shootings have taken place in recent years with virtually no legislative response from Congress.

"The stalemate has infuriated gun reform advocates, who are all but accusing Republicans of being complicit in murder for their rejection of tougher gun laws," it added.