Living in America has been quite disheartening lately. From the election of choosing the lesser of two evils to the gun violence that has occurred recently. Now, I’m not here to talk about the racist-toupee wearer or Clinton -- right now our country has bigger issues. As of right now in 2016 alone, 930 people have been either wounded or killed. To break it down even more that’s 174 shootings this year, 13 this month, and just seven since Monday.

I don’t know how families fight through these things. The unknowing seems the worst. You don’t know if your child, loved one, or family member is dead or alive somewhere in some hospital, praying to make it through the night. Or on the flip side, you see it happen right in front of you.

I don’t know nor can I imagine what is running through a person’s mind when someone opens fire on them. Or how they determine who to call first because those may be their last words.

I don’t know why or how someone can become filled with so much rage to kill another. To carry out such an act and then to rob the family of justice by killing themselves. Leaving the family, friends, and watchers wondering. Why?

Two of the latest shooting occurred in Orlando, Florida. One by a crazed fan and the other now on record as the worst mass shooting in history. I was strongly affected by both, for each stood for something I backed so strongly.

The first occurred on June 10th. Christina Grimmie, a former “The Voice” contestant and YouTuber, was performing with the band Before You Exit. It was during a meet and greet that Kevin James Loibl, a 27-year-old from St. Petersburg, Florida, shot Grimmie (she died later that evening at the hospital). Grimmie’s brother Marcus heroically tackled the gunman and because of that may have saved others from Loibl. Loibl then proceeded to shoot himself. Destiny Rivera, a witness to the attack, stated, “The one guy in front of us was walking up to meet her. Her arms were open, waiting to greet him with a hug... there was a sound of three pops, like balloons. People had brought balloons to the show and the security guards were popping them so at first I thought it was that... I saw Christina's leg fall to the side on the ground like a dead weight. I didn't see her face.” Shortly after that incident, police found a note left on Loibl’s door, “Deepest sorrow for lost (sic). To the family, friends and fans of the very talented, loving Christina Grimmie. No other comments.”

I was such a fan of Christina Grimmie since her early YouTube days. As she became more popular I couldn’t help but feel proud. Grimmie inspired me to start singing with her videos and I only hoped to be as good as her one day. And I am deeply saddened that I will never get the chance to meet her nor thank her. As far as I can tell (from her videos and social media) she was one of the kindest people, truly down to earth, loved, and extremely talented. My condolences go out to her family and friends. I am not the only one however, other artists such as Charlie Puth, Twenty One Pilots, and Selena Gomez dedicated songs during their performances to Grimmie. Also, there is a fundraiser for the Grimmie family if anyone would like to donate.

The second occurred on June 12 at the Pulse Nightclub. An evening of fun turned into a night of horror as Omar Mateen sprayed the helpless crowd with bullets. Due to the tight quarters he managed to hit 103 people (50 dead and 53 wounded). Mateen was originally from New York, but had moved to Florida. He “was a security guard with a company called G4S. In a 2012 newsletter, the firm identified him as working in West Palm Beach. State records show that Mateen had held a firearms license since at least 2011.” The most shocking thing about this is that Mateen was no stranger to law enforcement, for he was interviewed twice by the FBI before all this occurred. However, the FBI stated that the interviews were “inconclusive.”His father had told police that he didn’t like the sight of two men kissing, therefore leading police to believe that this was as much of a hate crime as a terrorist attack. “A law enforcement official said the gunman made a 911 call from the club in which he professed allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The official was familiar with the investigation, but was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.” During this attack Mateen gathered hostages and exchanged gunfire with police officers outside the club until around 6 a.m when he was killed. Investigators are still looking into the case to see if anyone else was involved with the shooting.

As soon as I woke up still devastated from the news about Grimmie, I saw the tragedy of this one across my Twitter feed. Tears fell down my face onto the floor for all of the victims and for the LGBT community. My heart dropped. I thought of my friends that are a part of the LGBT community and those who we have now lost. I felt sick, for I was unable to physically help those in need. Therefore, I thank Florida for lifting the ban on gay men for donating blood (why is this still a thing anyway?) in order to help as many as possible. As the day progressed and people began to speak their minds, one thing was certain -- there needs to be change for the sake of the family members, the victims, and the friends. We are all human and we all matter. No longer can this be. No longer should hate crimes be an issue within our nation. No longer shall people say that there was “no way of preventing this.”

So where does America stand compared to other nations?

The major federal laws are as follows:

• National Firearms Act ("NFA") (1934): Taxes the manufacture and transfer of, and mandates the registration of Title II weapons such as machine guns, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, heavy weapons, explosive ordnance, silencers, and disguised or improvised firearms.
• Federal Firearms Act of 1938 ("FFA"): Requires that gun manufacturers, importers, and persons in the business of selling firearms have a Federal Firearms License (FFL). Prohibits the transfer of firearms to certain classes of persons, such as convicted felons.
• Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (1968): Prohibited interstate trade in handguns, increased the minimum age to 21 for buying handguns.
• Gun Control Act of 1968 ("GCA"): Focuses primarily on regulating interstate commerce in firearms by generally prohibiting interstate firearms transfers except among licensed manufacturers, dealers and importers.
• Firearm Owners Protection Act ("FOPA") (1986): Revised and partially repealed the Gun Control Act of 1968. Prohibited the sale to civilians of automatic firearms manufactured after the date of the law's passage. Required ATF approval of transfers of automatic firearms.
• Undetectable Firearms Act (1988): Effectively criminalizes, with a few exceptions, the manufacture, importation, sale, shipment, delivery, possession, transfer, or receipt of firearms with less than 3.7 oz of metal content.
• Gun-Free School Zones Act (1990): Prohibits unauthorized individuals from knowingly possessing a firearm at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone.
• Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (1993): Requires background checks on most firearm purchasers, depending on seller and venue.
• Federal Assault Weapons Ban (1994–2004): Banned semiautomatic assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices. The law expired in 2004.
• Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (2005): Prevent firearms manufacturers and licensed dealers from being held liable for negligence when crimes have been committed with their products.

Those eligible:

US citizens

• permanent resident aliens
• non-immigrant aliens admitted into the United States for lawful hunting or sporting purposes or if the non-immigrant alien falls under one of the following exceptions:

1. possesses a valid hunting license or permit issued by any US state
2. an official representative of a foreign government who is accredited to the United States Government or the Government’s mission to an international organization having its headquarters in the United States or is en route to or from another country to which that alien is accredited
3. an official of a foreign government or a distinguished foreign visitor who has been so designated by the Department of State
4. a foreign law enforcement officer of a friendly foreign government entering the United States on official law enforcement business
5. has received a waiver from the Attorney General as long as the waiver petition shows this would be in the interests of justice and would not jeopardize the public safety under 18 U.S. Code § 922(y)(3)(c)

Shocking isn’t it?

How we stack up to the rest of the world. Now, I’m not saying that hunters should have their guns taken away nor do I want to capitalize on these tragedies to inform you about political things. However, I believe that if we treat owning and operating a gun like owning and operating a car, it would solve some of the issues. That way, you need to retake the test every few years or else your license will be revoked. And if you’re arrested for a violent crime, your license gets revoked. Of course this is somewhat of a simplified answer to a greater issue.

Regardless, we need to be there for one another in this time of need. We need to ban together and show our strength as a nation through this tragic time. Stay close to your loved ones, remind them you love them. Take the extra two seconds to say, "I love you!" Let us undo our fists, let go of our rage, and come together as one. No more gun violence. No more hate. Now let us fix this broken place.