Weapons of mass destruction

Dick Cheney can count himself bloody lucky that Harry Whittington did not die (although he's been on shaky ground at times) as a result of Dick shooting him in a "hunting accident". If Mr. Whittington had died either directly from the shooting, or from the heart attack he suffered 3 days later, what would have happened to Cheney? I'm guessing nothing. Mr. Bush is apparently "satisfied" with Dick's explanation of events, but I'm very concerned at the Administrations' blasé attitude.
Yes, Dick has become even more of a joke throughout the world than he was previously; example (as heard by me, mere seconds ago, on Nova 969 Sydney following a Tupac song) "Yeah, poor Tupac, he's not with us anymore. He went hunting with Dick Cheney and never came back".
But not one person or reporter that I know of (correct me if I'm wrong) has suggested that hunting and/or gun laws need to change to minimise the number of people being shot by their hunting mates, or anyone for that matter.
How about some *real* gun licensing laws for starters. Maybe if Walmart weren't selling guns and ammunition to convicted criminals...I don't know, seems like a good place to start. Walmart have altered their gun-sale policies slightly now, which caused locals to rush out and grab up all the guns they could find in case of a shortage. Really, there's something wrong with the logic circuits there.
Australia really tightened up their gun laws very soon after the 1996 Port Arthur Massacre in Tasmania, where 35 people were killed and 18 were injured by a single person. There was big grumbling about the reforms at the time as I recall, mostly from gun-owners who were going to have to store their guns in secure gun-cabinets rather than on the coffee table or under their pillows. But the legislation went through, and Australia is now a mucher safer place to live.

Update Feb 18 2006: Oh good, Harry Whittington has *finally* apologised to Dick Cheney for allowing himself to be shot: "My family and I are deeply sorry for everything Vice-President Cheney and his family have had to deal with," he said. "We hope that he will continue to come and seek the relaxation that he deserves." The apology was long overdue, but I guess he had trouble speaking with all those pellets lodged in his face. No really, do you think someone paid Harry to be nice about this?