In the aftermath of the bloody rampage at a movie theater outside of Denver, Colo., one thing is missing: A collective sense of outrage over this country’s insane inability to regulate and limit gun ownership.

Both Pres. Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney offered condolences to the grieving families; both spoke passionately about the horror of the incident. But neither addressed the glaring set of questions that for many of us is front and center.

How is it that a young man can purchase 6,000 rounds of ammunition by mail order? How is it that he had an assault rifle, the same high-capacity clips that soldiers use, tear gas and combat gear? And what rational human being could possibly suggest that his ability to purchase what the New York Times called “tools of terror” is what our nation’s founders meant when they crafted the Second Amendment?

According to a recent article in The New Yorker, the United States has the highest rate of gun ownership in the world. Yemen is next, with a gun-ownership ratio half of ours. “No civilian population,” wrote Jill Lepore in her article, titled “Battleground America,” “is more powerfully armed.”

A strong, effective and misguided gun lobby is largely to blame for this horrific situation, and of course the National Rifle Association is at the heart of that lobby. And the NRA has a presence on Vashon, albeit a quiet and limited one. So while there’s little we can do to shape this distant debate, many of us can take a small step or two. We can stand up to the NRA, quit if we’re members and call on our elected leaders to have the courage to confront this madness.