Shortly after the Texas church shooting, a Facebook friend of mine posted this: “When all the talk of gun control comes up just remember this piece of crap was stopped by two armed citizens.” It made me cringe. At what cost does gun control become a serious topic of conversation? Let me share with you what is not enough...

317 mass shootings as of November 2017.

483 mass shootings in 2016.

372 mass shootings in 2015.

Need I continue?

Did you know that the United States has the greatest number of gun owners?

Did you know that the United States has the most mass shootings than any other country?

Did you know that the president of the United States wanted to legalize the purchase of guns for the mentally ill?

Did you know that mass shootings are an American problem?

The problem is that most people know that the answer to all of these questions is yes, yet we still refuse to acknowledge the issue. I am very well aware of the Second Amendment that states, “The right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Interestingly enough though, the Fourteenth Amendment states, “nor shall any state deprive any person of life.” More than 13,000 people have been killed in 2017 alone. Their natural right to life has been taken away because the number one country in the world thinks it is permissible to allow citizens to purchase rifles for “self-defense.”

The late Justice Antonin Scalia argued that “M-16 rifles and the like” have absolutely no protection under the Second Amendment. However, guns are a multi-billion dollar industry. I understand that the United States is a capitalistic economy, but at the cost of thousands of lives? It really makes me cringe.

To everyone who rejects the idea of gun control, on the grounds of “It is in the Constitution. You cannot change our Amendments,” remember that it is also in the Constitution our natural right to life. Remember that one does not need a rifle to protect them.

Jeopardizing the life of thousands of people on the possibility that maybe a couple gunmen will help “save” the day, is not worth it. It is like going to an exam, unprepared, hoping that you will pass by catastrophe (a myth that if some catastrophic event happens, students whose performance was or could have been affected by the event are awarded passing grades). Let me lay it out for you: You are likely to fail that exam as you are more likely to be injured by guns than saved by them.

When all the talk of gun control comes up, remember that the “heroes” who “stopped this “piece of crap” would not have had to be there if there were stricter gun laws. You are better safe than sorry, right? Yeah, I have questioned that lately.