Guns are weapons, invented and manufactured for the sole purpose of inflicting damage. Guns need to be strictly regulated, with enforced heavy mental health screenings and wait periods, especially for big guns such as semi-automatic rifles. In tragic recent news, we have witnessed just how dangerous they can be.

Australia completely banned semi-auto machine guns and pump action shotgun in 1996 as a reaction to a deadly massacre that killed 35 people. The ban drastically reduced the number of deaths by gun violence and mass shooting are now rare.

In the US, mass shootings are more frequent than anywhere else in the world. In other countries, mass shootings are often carried out by underground groups and terrorist organizations. However, the US witnesses, almost annually, shootings by a civilian who has a mental condition, as their relatives are in shock and express their disbelief. People shed tears for the victim of the tragedy, few opinions for gun control can be heard among anti-gun control opinions, and the efforts fizzle out as the tears dry up only to repeat the cycle in a few months, without any change to mental health care. Guns should be regulated so they don’t fall into the hands of someone that may be a danger to the society.

Anti-gun control opinions generally revolve around the idea of security and safety. Carrying around a concealed pistol seems viable; however, carrying a bulky semi-automatic all the time for safety is absurd. A person in their right mind would not carry semi-automatic rifle with them all the time for protection.

In general, police are supposed to make the public feel safe and secured. The irony is that the police force is making most of the public feel unsafe. There have been a lot of killings by the hands of the police. It seems like the police force is being trained to kill, and especially people of color are being targeted. One of the reasons why there are so many killings might have to do with how the police are on the edge, as they are insecure themselves. A simple traffic stop might be the last day on their job, uncertain that the person being pulled over may have a loaded gun ready to shoot them. So anytime anything goes slightly off, the police overreact like they have to kill them before they get killed themselves.

Why is there so much gun violence in America? The arguably outdated second amendment allows people to have guns, but no one back then could have thought about semi-automatic guns, and the proxy debate about guns are keeping us from actual social issues. The main debate should be how Americans can be educated, how to make healthcare accessible for all people, what should be done about the wealth disparity that is slowly killing the middle class, and police killing civilians regardless of their race.