Heartbreaking photo of little girl standing on toilet practising US school gun drill goes viral

A bemused American mother took a photo of her young daughter standing on top of the toilet in their home bathroom. When she asked the little girl what she was doing, her daughter told her she was practising for her latest US preschool drill: hiding from a mass shooter.

A horrified Stacey Wehrman Feeley posted the photo of the 3-year-old on her Facebook page and took the opportunity to scold US politicians who have done nothing to change gun laws in the wake of a horrifying string of shootings. The social media post quickly went viral.

"Politicians — take a look," she wrote. "This is your child, your children, your grandchildren, your great grand children and future generations to come. They will live their lives and grow up in this world based on your decisions. They are barely 3 and they will hide in bathroom stalls standing on top of toilet seats."

She wonders what will be harder for children who might one day have to try to save their own lives in this way: keeping their balance or staying quiet.

"No one thinks gun control will be 100% crime control. But maybe, just maybe, it helps 1% or 2% or 50%? Who knows unless we try?" Feeley asks. "Why on earth are there not universal background checks? Where is a universal registration database? Why are high capacity magazines ever permitted to be sold to anyone other than direct to the military?"

One commenter responds: "It breaks my heart, that our children live in a world where they have lost their innocence so early."

The US Senate recently shot down four different proposals to tighten up American gun control laws in the wake of the Orlando nightclub attacks — the biggest mass shooting in the nation's history.

But Senators now say they have a bipartisan proposal with wide backing that would prevent suspected terrorists from buying guns. "Essentially we believe that if you are too dangerous to fly on an airplane, you are too dangerous to buy a gun," said Republican Maine Senator, Susan Collins.

The legislation would allow the attorney general to block the sale of a gun to an individual on the "no-fly" list or another "selectee" list, which requires additional screening at an airport, reports the Hill.

The two lists affect approximately 109,000 people, most of whom are foreigners. The legislation would allow such decisions to be appealed. Court costs for successful appeals by Americans and Green Card holders would be covered by the government under the bill.