One of the phrases repeated often by advocates of stricter gun laws since the Dec. 14 Newtown school massacre has been: “If not now, when?”

That rhetorical question became a literal one Wednesday when a federal gun-control bill crashed and burned in the U.S. Senate after months of elevated hopes by Democrats, based on a national surge of emotion at the murders of 20 children and six women at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

To read the entire article click here.