Thursday evening, after tearily announcing his Executive Order earlier in the week, President Obama sat down with Anderson Cooper for a town-hall style Q&A about guns in America. I watched the entire hour, hearing from Democrats, Republicans, a police officer, and even a priest talk about the threat gun violence poses to tearing our country apart. After doing some research and reading multiple outlets (including the White House’s fact sheet), the real problem soon revealed itself.

Gun control is not merely the debate of do guns kill people or do people kill people. This issue has become tainted by partisan lines and loyalties, another criticism to point out against the other side. This issue, which has caused unfathomable heartbreak for so many families, has become yet another “bullet” point for politicians to use against opponents. Another shot to be fired in hopes of gaining votes. We are allowing gross exaggerations and stereotypes of each party's view on the issue to blind us from achieving any real progress. This is the fatal flaw plaguing American democracy. People are so caught up in “Liberal Hillary lovers trying to mooch off the system” or “gay-hatin’, Conservative old white dudes” that very little has been done by this Congress to lessen the ominous partisan divide growing wider every quarter.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan released a statement on his website saying, “…rather than focus on criminals and terrorists, he (Obama) goes after the most law-abiding of citizens.” Just this week, according to the Washington Post (which by the way, leans more right), Ted Cruz sent out a fundraising email portraying President Obama in riot gear proclaiming, “Obama wants your guns!” Cruz and Ryan both are vehemently preying on American’s fears for votes. The fact that Cruz and Ryan both are willing to take advantage of every parent’s nightmare is utterly deplorable and contributes to the unnecessary partisan lines surrounding gun control.

Contrary to the hoopla the media would have you believe, President Obama’s executive order says this (here’s the Sparknotes edition):

1. We need background checks for all wishing to purchase a gun: Umm no duh. How is this not common sense? I was SHOCKED to learn that some gun shows do not require background checks to buy guns. Also, it doesn’t matter if you sell guns out of a van or in Gander Mountain. You must run a background check. How does this measure infringe upon my Second Amendment rights? If you’re a “law abiding citizen” as Speaker Ryan says, what do you have to hide? I mean, you have to have a background check to be an Uber driver for heaven’s sake...
2. More ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms) agents: Okay cool, no problem with that. These agents will help run all the background checks.
3. Increase mental health treatment. Check. Still no issue with that.
4. Looking into gun safety technology: thousands of accidental deaths are caused each year by guns. Looking into more safety technology makes those who use guns (and those accidently playing with them, like your 4 year old cousin) more safe.

And that’s it. Nowhere does it say, “You gun will be taken away from you if…” or “You may only own five revolvers because at six revolvers you could do some real harm.” For law abiding citizens, get all the guns you want! Support the NRA! Continue to please the gun lobby. Just let the government make sure you haven’t had a past of violence. To me, that is nowhere near unreasonable. There is no real reason NRA and gun lobby shouldn’t stand behind this too. Again, partisan lines have blurred common sense. Does the NRA hope that people buy guns to murder first graders? Do gun manufacturers think, “Wow, I can’t wait for this new revolver model to start hitting up college campuses”? Of course not. Background checks are something EVERY card-carrying member of the NRA should be able to get behind as responsible gun owners.

I understand the fear that “this is just the beginning” to many Americans. The proposed Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 freaked out a lot of gun owners. But that law didn’t pass and that law is not what President Obama passed in his Executive Order. But if Congress can't compromise on any gun reform (God forbid you vote yea for basic gun reform as a Republican. What if it gets brought up during campaign season?!), at least the President wanted to get SOMETHING down. And before you pass me off as one of those “Newly-liberal-college-girls-who-doesn’t-really-know-what-she’s-talking-about,” to be honest, I’m not really a fan of Executive Orders, in general. I don’t like the idea of big government or federal overhaul. I’m totally okay with offshore driving, the Keystone XL pipeline, and tax cuts for families. I've voted for Republicans! Gun control doesn’t have to be a partisan issue. Discrepancies in state-by-state gun laws have allowed loopholes for criminals to continue their crimes. So passing this Executive Order, which hasn’t listed anything radical, is just a step to hopefully prevent criminals from continuing to hurt American families, no matter what state you’re in.

Of course, will this action prevent the next Columbine? The next Sandy Hook? I don’t know. But, my God, for the sake of those families, we are going to try SOMETHING to deter gun violence in this country. SOMETHING other than attacking the opposition with propaganda emails. SOMETHING other than making it seem like Democrats want guns banned in the U.S. SOMETHING that requires reaching across the aisle to find common ground.

I grew up in South Georgia. I’ve been exposed to guns my whole life. My father owns guns for personal protection, and I'm glad he has them. I feel safe knowing that I have the right to defend myself if need be. Feel free to run that background check! You'll see a seatbelt ticket. My family doesn't hunt, but I’ve shot a gun several times. I’m not half bad shooting skeet, and I’ve shot a squirrel with a BB gun, if that counts. I disagree with President Obama on many things, but this one he got right. And until partisans can swallow their pride, admit that, and find common ground for SOMETHING on gun control, we will continue to argue while people continue to die.