In a country where everyone can have access to guns, largescale shooting incidents may sound like something that is impossible to prevent. Talking about stricter gun control is back in fashion in the U.S. after mass shooting incidents in Aurora, Colorado, and Newtown, Connecticut, appalled the entire nation. Dozens of people were killed in the separate incidents. The right to bear arms is enshrined in the U.S. constitution. And support for gun control has ebbed over the past 20 years due to a variety of complicated factors. While it may be difficult to put the brakes on gun sales and ownership altogether, there are still measures that can be taken to better scrutinize potential gun owners. After all, it isn't the guns that kill people, it's the people who do.

So, why is it so difficult to impose stricter gun control in the U.S.? And what is the situation in the U.K.?

Ni hao, you're listening to   People In the Know, bringing you insights into the headline news in China and around the world, I'm Zheng Chenguang in Beijing.

We speak to Dr. James Jacobs, Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Professor of Constitutional Law and the Courts, and Director of Center for Research in Crime and Justice, New York University School of Law and Prof. Peter Squires, Professor of Criminology and Public Policy, University of Brighton, U.K.