There have been more mass shootings in the United States than there have been days. The F.B.I has found a sharp rise in mass shootings since 2000, and 9 out of 10 of the worse mass shootings have occurred in the past 20 years.

When a country faces an epidemic such as this, it's common to compare other somewhat similar nations to see if it is a global problem. Surely other countries share in America's plight, right?

Absolutely not.

In 2016, 238 people died from gun deaths in Australia. In that same year, Austria suffered 240. In 2015, Switzerland had 231 gun deaths. Finland, the number was just 132 at that same time. The U.S. total this year is 8,799. And it's not even September.

How are these other countries doing so much better than us? What is different about these countries?

The answer should be pretty obvious: gun regulation.

A 2017 student found that there were more guns than people in the United States. That's less than 5 percent of the world's population owning about 35–50 percent of the world's guns. We have no federal laws banning semiautomatic assault weapons, military-style .50 caliber rifles, handguns, or large-capacity magazines, and most of the states allow guns to be bought at gun shows without any form of background check or regulation.

I have never seen a country will gun laws as lax as America. There are so many guns in the United States because of how easy it is to get them, and this increased number of guns leads to more gun deaths.

It's that easy.

Extensive research has been done on this topic, and none of it has pointed to guns having a positive effect. Studies have found that the "more guns, less crime" idea promoted by many gun advocates have it backward: more guns lead to more crime. Furthermore, psychological studies have investigated the effects guns have on the brain, and the results are chilling. When people are primed with words or pictures related to weapons (guns included) they behave more aggressively: "It is clear that the presence of a weapon—or even a picture of a weapon—can make people behave more aggressively. In essence, the gun helps pull the trigger."

There is nothing else that needs to be said about this topic. The U.S. has a gun problem, other countries do not, and those countries have more intense gun laws. Guns cause people to be more aggressive, cause increases in crime, and lead to more deaths. The shooter in Dayton was stopped in 30 seconds after firing his first shot. He was still able to kill 9 people. Not because of video games or the gay agenda, but because he had a high powered rifle with a 100 round magazine.

It's past the time to do finally do something about our gun problem. It's past the time for our politicians to do their job. It's past the time to stop the deaths.

It's time for extensive gun reform.