Many Americans may argue that taking guns away from law abiding citizens will not do much from stopping someone from using those guns for illegal activities. Some may say, “If they were planning on doing harm anyway, why would a law regulating guns stop them?”

While this may be a valid opinion and stance on gun control, one must acknowledge that the time to take action on guns, and regulate their trade, has long past. America is long overdue for laws that will make society safer as a whole. Recently, the Las Vegas tragedy was regarded as the deadliest mass shooting in American history, coming only 16 months after the last mass shooting that was deemed “most deadly”. As shootings are becoming more and more frequent within the US, it is clear that something must be done in order to prevent these horrific acts of mass murder.

It’s time to ask ourselves, is one’s personal freedom really more important than the safety of American citizens? Currently, gun laws are too relaxed; in Nevada, gun laws state that one can open-carry without a permit, and there is no ban on assault rifles, or a magazine capacity limit. One does not need a purchase permit, gun registration, or gun-owner licensing; there is no waiting-period requirement and private gun sales are legal. Nevada also prohibits local gun laws. 

In short, anything goes. In order to commit the terrible act on Sunday night, the Las Vegas shooter used an assault rifle, and had a number of others within his hotel room. There is no need for any regular citizen to own an assault rifle, and the gun laws must be stricter so that we can prevent further tragedies like this from happening. People with intentions to harm others should never have the opportunity to get their hands on weapons like these.

Some may argue that gun laws are “unconstitutional” because the Second Amendment guarantees the right of arms to any civilian. However, the Second Amendment was written 226 years ago when guns had less capability, only shooting one bullet at a time. For perspective, that would be like the current government writing legislation that would govern weapons in the year 2243.

Mass slaughter should not become a normalcy in this country. We do not need thoughts and prayers after every tragedy; we need change. Advocating for change is not “politicizing” a tragedy, but rather a mechanism to try and prevent the next massacre. If after every tragedy the American people recognized the mistakes that led up to it, and worked to prevent any future shootings, society would be safer as a whole.

That said, we do not feel that all guns should be taken away from the American people. Many people hunt for sport, or feel more safe with a shotgun at hand, and it would not be right to take away their authority to do so. On the other hand, one should not own an AK-47 or assault rifle in order to hunt deer or “feel safe”;  the types of guns owned by US citizens should be limited.

It should be more difficult for civilians to acquire assault rifles, magazine capacity should be regulated, and more laws should be created to regulate weapons that have the potential to hurt hundreds of people. Gun control is not impossible, and needs to become a reality as the safety of society is more important than one’s freedom to own 30 assault rifles.