Gun control, a controversial subject that can be seen from many different viewpoints; our second amendment states that we as Americans have the “right to bare arms.”– is this right necessarily a good one?  America made up for 31% of mass shootings around the world this year; of the 30 deadliest shootings in the U.S. dating back to 1949, 16 have occurred in the last 10 years.

FBI data about the number of background checks for gun sales can tell us a lot about the patterns of demand, these patterns tend to rise directly after high-profile mass shootings, when public debates about gun control are high.

Recalling tragic events such as the Orlando nightclub being shot up earlier this year, it can serve as an eye opener to many as to just how dangerous a gun in the hands of the wrong person can be; a solution an be made of this realization though, and that would be stricter gun control.

Civilians in the U.S. own about 270 million guns, according to a 2007 report by the Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey, thus making America the No. 1 country in firearms per capita. In more than half the American mass shooting cases, the shooter had more than one firearm. In global incidents, the shooter typically had only one gun.

America’s “rights to bear arms” should not serve as a green light to have an excessive amount of guns, nor should it be an excuse as to why people must carry a firearm everywhere they go; perhaps this amendment is the reason why America and its people are so bent on having guns.

Since 9/11, the United States has responded aggressively to the danger of terrorism, taking extraordinary measures, invading two countries, launching military operations in many others, and spending more than $800 billion on homeland security; since 9/11, 74 people have been killed in the United States by terrorists.

In that same period, more than 150,000 Americans have been killed in gun homicides, and we have done . . . absolutely nothing. Our attitude towards this seems to be one of fatalism, another day another mass shooting. We have become so inured to the catastrophic levels of violence in our cities that we gloss over them, thus never really seeking a proper solution.

In the wake of this ongoing tragedy, we have actually loosened restraints on the ability and ease with which people can buy, own and carry guns. If someone really wanted, they could go into a gun shop, purchase a firearm, and shoot up a school.

America’s gun laws are utterly ridiculous, it’s no wonder why there are so many mass shootings, we need some sanity in our gun control laws. It is not an act of fate that has caused 150,000 Americans to die over the past 14 years. It is a product of laws, court decisions, lobbying and pandering politicians. We can change it.