When I was about 4 years old, I hit my younger sister over the head with a Barbie doll. The consequence: the Barbie doll was taken away from me until I could learn how to play with it responsibly. When talking about this with my roommate, we realized something: how come the same rule doesn't apply with guns?

Now I get it, guns and Barbie dolls are not the same thing. Barbie dolls are a children's toy and a gun is a weapon that can kill people. Guns are, in fact, quite a bit more dangerous than a Barbie, and given that there have been 297 mass shootings in just the past year, maybe, just maybe, it's time we put some restrictions on guns.

Now, gun defenders and enthusiasts, I understand owning a gun is your Second Amendment right, but the thing is, clearly not everyone knows how to play nice with this right. Children can grasp the idea that when you misuse something, it'll be taken away, so why after 297 mass shootings does it seem like the people running our country don't understand that guns are being seriously misused. It is time we take action; it was too far with Sandy Hook, it was too far with the Aurora movie theater shootings, it was too far with the Charleston Church shootings, and it was too far with Umpqua Community College. There is no way to deny that guns are now and have been, able to get in dangerous hands due to America's extreme lack in gun control. We should have taken action a long time ago. This is no longer about allowing people their own right to guns—it's about giving people the right to live.

If we are trying to and able to teach children about the consequences for their wrong actions, we should be able to show them a consequence of misuse on a larger scale. Who knows, though? Maybe in the very, very, very distant future, America will be at a point where it can handle gun ownership and gun use. For now though, if we can't play nice, then we really shouldn't be playing at all.