I have sat back for a while and not said anything about the whole gun reform issue because let's face it, there will be arguments and I am not one for social media arguments.

To me, they are pointless, petty, and just an excuse for people to get heated, never show their face and say some of the RUDEST things they could ever think of.

After this past weekend, I can no longer stay silent. I watched men and women, young and old, black and white, veterans, hunters, and civilians walk hand-in-hand all asking for one common thing, gun reform. I watched as children younger than me were brought to tears because of the things that they have had to witness and endure. I watched as the peaceful protests went on, people on the other side of the argument said that what they were doing "wasn't going to work" or "is this really what you want?" The list goes on and on about how gun reform is the new "hot topic" to jump on board with, and in all honesty GOOD.

We SHOULD be talking about it. If Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement activists never spoke up, we would still be segregated. If the Continental Army never rebelled against Great Britain, we would still be a British colony. If we don't use our voices to start the change we want to see, what are we doing in this world?

The most powerful weapon we carry every single day of our lives, is our voice, so why not use it?

Now, my issues with the people opposing gun reform are where their reasonings and solutions lie.

The first one out of every reporter and civilian's mouth is the same: gun laws won't stop gun violence just like drug laws don't stop overdoses.

Well, actually, it would slow it down. If we use your logic on everything that laws don't stop, why even have any laws? Drug laws don't stop drug overdoses yet we spend THOUSANDS of dollars to help get them out. Speed limits and driving laws don't stop us from speeding, following too closely, not using our blinkers- that list can go on and on- yet we will have them and they are policed on the daily. Sexual assault is against the law yet, there were close to 300,000 cases last year. So again, by your reasoning, we shouldn't have any laws at all because they are all just going to be broken.

The even better response, it's in the constitution that it's my right to have it.

Well, hate to break it to you, but you also have Freedom of Speech, but there are limits on that as well. You may ask, why? Simple, TO PROTECT YOU! I totally 1,000% agree that it is your RIGHT to own a gun, but it is also the right of other civilians to be safe.

More guns = More protection.

How is that in any way possible a good solution. You think taking away guns is bad, yet your solution is to put them in the hands of more people, AND you don't want background checks, AND you don't want to have to register it? Yeah sounds like a great plan to me.

In the matter of schools: arm the teachers.

This one actually makes me laugh, like hysterically laugh. You are willing to make sure that money goes to buying teachers weapons but not making sure that schools have enough computers or textbooks for every student. You are willing to make sure that teachers receive minimal pay to mold the minds of young children, and spend hundreds of dollars on sporting events that in turns goes to help pay players who are in their early 20s and worth millions of dollars. You would rather parents and teachers have to spend more money so the teacher can have paper, tissues, markers, crayons, hand sanitizer, erasers, glue, yet you are willing to buy them guns. Okay, got it.

Guns aren't the issue, mentally ill people are.

Okay, I will admit, I do agree with this one. Guns don't kill people, people kill people, that is just common sense. But you are telling me that you are willing to ACKNOWLEDGE and fight for people who suffer from mental illnesses? In my own personal experiences, when you come forward for feeling different and not right, most of the time you are told, "you'll be fine" or "it's just a phase, it will pass" or my personal favorite "you can't let your feelings run your life." My friends, you have a lot to learn about mental illness if you want to blame these TRAGEDIES on them. Again, I do agree that we have a mental health problem here in the United States but let's face it, insurance companies don't want to pay for it, parents want to deny it, and kids don't want to feel even more excluded because they come forth with their issues.

For some reason, in the eyes of the opposing team, change means taking away everything, and that isn't what anybody is trying to do. What this movement is trying to do, is make it harder for you to buy a weapon, make sure that these weapons that are designed to take a life don't get into the wrong hands, and most of all, to make sure that everybody on all ends are kept safe.

So, instead of not listening to the other side, why don't we all sit down and open up our ears to hear the other viewpoints. Offer up some reasonable solutions to the problems at hand. If we can all come together and fight for this, we can and will see a difference.

1. Have school systems employ veterans

I personally think this is a great idea. There are hundreds of them out there without a job and with some background checks and looking into what they endured on their deployment, this could be a great solution. You would have people who are professionally trained to spot when things aren't right instead of making it the teachers jobs.

2. Stop letting children play violent video games.

I have seen first hand how grotesque these games can be. Blood spatters across the screen when you shoot somebody, you get rewarded for how you kill them, and overall, it makes life and death just seem like a game to them.

3. Be open with your children and explain the importance of gun safety and proper handling

It may come as a surprise to all, but I actually don't mind guns, you owning guns, using guns, none of that, my issue is them being seen as toys instead of weapons. Just like everything else in life, there is a proper way to use them and handle them, if you start from square one with them, they will understand it.

4. What is the reason for you having such a powerful weapon?

This is a serious question that I think deserves an answer. What is your need to have such thing in your possession other than being Veruca Salt and saying, "I want it now!" If you can give me five LEGITIMATE reasons as to why a civilian should have weapons that are capable of such destruction, I might begin to understand a little more.

I won't lie to you and say that I know everything about guns and that I understand the difference in all of them, but one thing I will tell you I get, the fear that those children feel every day. In a place where they are supposed to be safe to learn and be who they are, they now have to live in fear. A child shouldn't have to worry about their safety in a place that is meant to shape their minds, or anywhere for that matter.

So, what I leave you with is, why are you against gun REFORM? By definition, reform means to make changes, and that's what we need to see. We have seen changes in education laws, child labor laws, traffic laws, the list can go on and on, but you're saying that we can never see the CHANGE in gun laws? Something isn't right with that.