Two weeks after the shooting rampage in Aurora, Colorado, six people were gunned down in a Sikh temple in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Sunday morning. The latter incident was said to be a "domestic terrorist-type incident."

The motive for the shooting is still under investigation, while religious hatred and loose gun control were among the possible reasons cited by analysts.

Washington has long failed to effectively address the holes in the gun law. After the latest carnage, the American public has started speculating about when the next tragedy will happen. To politicians, gun ownership is an explosive issue.

Despite having the most advanced defense ability, the US government cannot prevent its citizens from falling victim to domestic gun crime. Freedom is an important element of US soft power, but the freedom to own a gun probably has the opposite effect.

The US is among the world's top countries in terms of casualties of gun-related incidents. As the debate over gun and firearms ownership continues and politicians dodge the issue, more innocent lives have been claimed.

The shooting also highlighted domestic hatred, another nagging issue in US politics. The shooter, launching his attack at a congregation in a Sikh temple, was thought to be venting his anger toward Muslims or immigrants.

Amid the background of lingering economic woes, the US has been plagued by a growing mood of anger, giving rise to domestic terrorist incidents.

Religious and racial inclusiveness have long been lofty goals of the US, but in reality, discrimination among different religions, races and social classes has never been resolved, constantly fuelling serious social incidents.

The repeated incidents also offer lessons to developing countries, which tend to model their social governance on developed states. The long debate over gun ownership shows that once a social issue has become polarized and interests diverged, finding consensus within society will be more difficult. It requires strong leadership and policy-making ability to initiate real change.

If free gun ownership were adopted in developing countries such as China, it would spell disaster for public security and order. In many other aspects of social governance, tough measures are also necessary to fit China's domestic situation.