William Brangham:

We are in the midst of a grim cycle.

A tragic mass shooting occurs. A community, in this case, two communities grieve the loss of innocent lives. Thoughts and prayers turn to calls for action. Political leaders promise to do something, but then, in many cases, action doesn't materialize.

We do this occasional look at the "NewsHour" at what might be done, and whether any of those proposed reforms would actually save lives.

There's talk now of universal background checks for every single gun transaction in America. There's talk of more red flag laws, where people can alert authorities of trouble with someone who has weapons.

But we're going to look now at the idea that some say should be on the table, to limit high-capacity magazines, which give a shooter the ability to fire off more and more rounds before they have to stop and reload.

I'm joined now by David Chipman of the Giffords Center, the gun safety group. Chipman spent 25 years as a special agent at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, where he focused, in part, on gun trafficking.

Welcome to the "NewsHour."