On Monday, three Michigan State University students were fatally shot and five others were wounded. The shooter then killed himself. As mass shootings have become a disturbingly commonplace event in the United States, news of this tragedy has shocked many. What follows, however, will be all too familiar.

After Patrick H. Sherrill opened fire in an Oklahoma post office in 1986, the phrase "going postal" became an ounce-of-prevention joke, meant to warn those inclined to violence that the consequences of his actions remained on the public conscience.

But in the five decades since Sherrill's murderous rampage, a very dull ax has been slowly cleaving away at the Bill of Rights. Today, we forget about anniversaries of these tragedies with a regularity that would be disturbing if it wasn't to be expected. Mass shootings are no longer a thing to be surprised by, but just a regular