Imagine sitting at school. You’re in the cafeteria enjoying your lunch, and laughing along with your friends. BANG! A loud noise echoes through the huge lunchroom. A student falls to the ground, and standing behind the fallen body is another kid: one with a gun. No one is laughing anymore. How did this happen? How did a playful tease result in this? If the United States could just have stricter gun laws, then these kids wouldn’t have to be calling their parents thinking they’ll never see them again.

In 2020 there were 610 mass shootings. According to an article about gun violence by Forbes, they define a mass shooting is when four or more people are injured or killed by a gun. The US is on track in 2021 to have 511 mass shootings because they are already at 147.1 The shooter that shot Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 had access to guns because his mother had bought several. Twenty children and six teachers died. If american citizens weren’t allowed just to purchase guns, the Sandy Hook shooting might have never happened. We shouldn’t be letting just anyone have guns, otherwise, people will continue to die. According to an article by the Washington Post, “In 2020, gun violence killed nearly 20,000 Americans,” that’s not including the 24,000 americans who died by suicide with a gun. In 2019 suicide covered 60% of gun deaths, whereas murder was 37%3. If gun control becomes stricter in the United States, then we won’t have so many people dying at alarming rates. The policemen play a part in all these deaths too. Due to policemen being allowed to carry guns, there have been many people killed which has caused a racial uproar. Breonna Taylor was a 23-year-old black woman, who was shot six times in her own home by a police officer. In the UK, not all officers are allowed to carry guns. Most officers have tasers. According to an article by SkyNews, they state: “by March 2019, a total of 33 people died as result of gun crime - three more than the previous year.” The UK is doing much better without guns. Maybe this is a sign that the US should follow in their footsteps.

Along with the UK, Sweden is one of the many countries with gun restrictions. According to the article “Sweden May Have the Answers to America’s Gun Problem”, it states that “To apply for a firearm permit, you must first take a year-long hunter training program and pass a written and shooting test.” The article also talks about how the guns must be kept in a locked vault; not in places where children can get them. Sweden denies about 1,000 gun permits a year: there are only about 2.3 million people who own guns.6 Like mentioned before, only certain officers are allowed guns in the United Kingdom. They are called Authorized Firearm Officers (AFOs). They must undergo about two years of training and be of a specific physical level. An article by OurEconomy states that “To be granted a gun license, you have to be able to prove that you’re using it for sport (in contrast to the US, where 67 percent of gun owners say they need it for protection).” There are many countries in the world with gun restrictions; in fact, the website WorldPopulationReview has a list of 14 of the countries with gun restrictions.

As of 2020, around 40% of Americans live in a household with a gun. There are several reasons why some people might want to have a gun. Some people enjoy collecting them or going hunting, Some people might even argue that gun control isn’t necessary, but education about guns is. An article by Britannica procon.org says, “95% of all US gun owners believe that children should learn about gun safety. Guns don’t kill people; people kill people” It goes on to say, “Gun education is the best way to save young lives.”10 I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, gun safety is not being taught in schools, and until then, we can’t expect every kid or adult to understand how dangerous a gun is. Guns give people the power to kill other people. Guns are fueled by hatred that people hold. The US doesn’t have to ban guns entirely. They could follow in Sweden’s footsteps or the UK’s. Make gun owners lock up their weapons until they decide to go hunting; that way, a gun isn’t in reach of anyone who shouldn’t be touching it. Although, according to a survey done in 2017, 12 percent of gun owners said that they often go shooting, whereas 44 percent said they never do. What is 44 percent of people doing with their guns? They can’t all just be collecting guns. I understand that being able to show your friends your vast collection of rare guns probably feels like an accomplishment and not something that you are willing to throw away just because some random person says that they are dangerous. A solution to that problem would be to lock your guns into a safe place where people can’t touch them. Or even just collect the weapons and not the bullets. Gun owners shouldn’t leave dangerous weapons lying around. In the article “Sweden May Have the Answers to America’s Gun Problem”, the writer states “I began to think more about the responsibilities of gun owners rather than gun owners' rights.”6 Gun owners have a responsibility to keep their guns in a space where no one can reach them. Unfortunately, not everyone is responsible enough and gun restrictions are the only way to fix that issue.

Some people like to argue that they feel much safer with a gun in their house. But are you fully ready to kill a stranger that walks into your house uninvited? Why not use a less deadly weapon. Like pepper spray or a taser. Something that gives you time to run away and call the police without doing permanent damage, because what happens if that person you thought was a stranger turns out to be your neighbour that you didn’t recognise? According to an article by NBC  News in 2020, a husband shot his pregnant wife because he thought she was an intruder. The article states, “When officers arrived, the man was standing outside the home with the couple's other child yelling for help. He told police that he had shot his wife by accident and his "life is over," the report states.” This man said that his life is over because he accidentally shot his wife. Are you willing to take that risk? Another good point is that people are worried that with harsher gun restrictions, criminals will try to get guns illegally and no one will have weapons to stop them. In the article by Britannica ProCon.org, it states “Journalist John Stossel explained, “Criminals don’t obey the law… Without the fear of retaliation from victims who might be packing heat, criminals in possession of these [illegal] weapons now have a much easier job… As the saying goes, ‘If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.'”10 Legally owned guns are actually often stolen by criminals, so restricting the number of people that are allowed to have guns in their house, getting rid of guns will lower the chance of a criminal stealing a gun from a house. Not to mention, with stricter gun laws, all guns will be locked away and kept out of reach from anyone who shouldn’t have them--including criminals.

If the US adopts some of the policies of other countries,--which have already proven to be successful-- and gun owners change their behavior, then unnecessary gun deaths can be avoided. People kill people so let's not give them the tools to kill.