You immediately feel the anger. And the heartbreak. And the incredible sadness for those who lost their lives, and those whose lives will never be the same.

My God, 50 people mowed down early Sunday morning in Orlando. Another 54 people wounded in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

But in a sign of how the world turns these days, besides feeling shocked, we also feel numb and helpless to prevent what President Obama called “an act of terrorism and an act of hate.”

In the last year, we’ve seen similar gun massacres in Paris and Belgium. But mostly, we see these things happen in the United States — at a movie theater, a supermarket parking lot, an elementary school, a high school, a mosque, a black church.

And now, a gay nightclub in Orlando.

Police identified the shooter as Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old American man from Port St. Lucie. There’s a suggestion Mateen was an Islamist radical, though his father suggested the incident was driven by hate. He said his son had seen two men kissing in Miami a couple months ago and the incident had stoked an “anti-gay fervor.”

So according to police, there was Mateen on Sunday morning about 2 a.m., at the Pulse nightclub, carrying an AR-15 rifle, plus a handgun and perhaps some other device. He was licensed to carry guns, and because he had no criminal past, he presumably would have cleared a background check.

What can be done to stop people intent on doing harm?

We can ask ourselves, as a nation of caring people, why any person needs a military style rifle. Why does someone need a 30-round clip that can mow down dozens of people in a matter of seconds? Certainly, they don’t need it for hunting. And they don’t need it to protect against someone breaking into their home.

Omar Mateen Omar Mateen has been preliminarily identified as the gunman in a shooting at Pulse nightclub that left 50 dead and 50 more injured. Omar Mateen has been preliminarily identified as the gunman in a shooting at Pulse nightclub that left 50 dead and 50 more injured.

Neither is the answer to arm more people, as the National Rifle Association suggests. Imagine what would have happened in that darkened nightclub if everyone had suddenly pulled out guns and started shooting.

In the aftermath, local, state and federal leaders said “all the resources of the government” will be made available to help Orlando. But why can’t all the resources of the government be made available to prevent such violence?

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said state leaders from across the country called to ask what they can do. Here’s what they can do: show leadership in addressing the gun violence that scares and shames our country.

President Obama says his failure to get action on the scourge of gun violence is the greatest disappointment of his presidency. Fifteen times now, Obama has had to comfort the nation after mass shootings.

Is the answer better mental health care? That’s part of the answer, but it’s not that simple. Not everyone who has committed heinous crimes has had a treatable mental illness, Some were psychopaths who have no chance of changing. The answer is to prevent such people from getting their hands on weapons of mass destruction.

In the coming days, besides hearing more about the people whom we’ve lost, we will hear politicians talk about radicalism and what are we going to do about ISIS, particularly since the killer apparently declared his allegiance to the terrorist group.

Some — like Donald Trump, who quickly tweeted about his tough stance on radical Islamic terrorism ­– will try to use this horrible tragedy to their advantage. But in a moment of grief, do you really want your president on Twitter saying things like “Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism …”

And there will be those who say the answer is prayer. But we need so much more than prayer. We need leadership at the state and national level.

We need leaders who will find the courage to say “No more,” and actually do something about the plague of violence, no matter the political consequences.

We need leaders willing to reexamine the ability of people to buy military-style weapons and high-capacity magazines.

We need leaders willing to fund our mental health system and better identify the signs of someone susceptible to violence and hate.

And we need families and friends to report people they think are capable of such violence.

As Floridians and Americans, we will not give in to fear. We will go about our daily lives – going to the movies, the supermarket and to school.

And we will wait for tomorrow, when the next tragedy comes.