Gun ownership laws are once again at the heart of political debate in the United States after the horrific shooting in December in Newtown, Connecticut which left 20 young children and six educators dead.
But efforts in the wake of the massacre to impose tougher controls on firearm ownership have been blocked in Congress.
Even though polls show most Americans would support tougher licensing requirements, gun ownership is a passion in the United States, which at around 300 million has almost as many firearms as people.
According to polling firm Gallup, 13 percent of women in the US owned a gun in 2005 compared to 23 percent in 2011 — a significant jump, though women still trail American men, 46 percent of whom owned a gun in 2011.