Each year, more than 30,000 people die from guns in the United States, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. While the Constitution gives citizens the right to bear arms, this freedom has resulted in terrible bloodshed. Gun owners claim they have the right to carry a gun for protection and self-defense, but what about the protection of those killed by firearms? Shouldn’t their protection matter just as much?

In the New York Times article “End the Gun Epidemic in America,” their editorial board argues that “it is a moral outrage and a national disgrace that civilians can legally purchase weapons designed specifically to kill people with brutal speed and efficiency.” The problem is not with responsible gun owners who use guns for hunting. Rather, it is the easy access to handguns that has made the United States so dangerous, since they are the most common weapons used in crime, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. It is time for the government to take action and pass stricter gun control laws to prioritize the protection of society over the right to carry a deadly weapon.

The problem with handguns is that almost anybody in America can acquire one easily. In order to purchase a handgun, one must obtain a registered gun license. During this process, the applicant goes through a background check to see if he or she has a clean record and is responsible enough to carry a firearm. However, the FBI doesn’t have thorough background checks for every single person. A licensed dealer could be selling a gun to a person with a serious mental illness or criminal record and not have the slightest idea of the buyer’s ability to be responsible. Even with a clean record, once someone has purchased a gun, they can still use it to harm others after the transaction has taken place. The dealer has no way of knowing the customer’s intentions, specifically whether they will choose to be violent or not.

An example that supports this idea is the Virginia Tech shooting on April 16, 2007. The killer, Seung-Hui Cho, was mentally ill, according to ABC News, and this event proved to be the deadliest mass school shooting in U.S. history. In this tragic event, 32 people were murdered, including the killer himself who committed suicide.

Thirty-two families lost loved ones that day, and their deaths could have been avoided if the United States government had stricter gun control laws.

In Japan, handguns are prohibited, yet people can own hunting and sport

firearms. However, owners must attend classes, pass written and practical exams and undergo psychological assessments to determine if they are fit enough to own a deadly weapon. Police background checks are extensive and even go so far as to review the prospective gun owners’ relatives. The United States needs to adopt the same system to allow people who want to use guns for hunting to have them but make it much harder for those who would harm themselves or others if they owned these deadly weapons.

The statistics on gun homicides around the world make the case that easy access to guns in the U.S. makes our country far more dangerous than countries like Japan, which make the ownership of guns a responsibility, not a right.

The ownership of guns should not be so prevalent throughout the country. In order to make this a reality, the government should pass a series of stricter laws on these deadly firearms. Handguns should be heavily restricted and harder to purchase. Every applicant should undergo a more extensive background check. Handgun buyers should also be required to take a lengthy course on the use of the weapon. Hopefully, this strenuous process would make the idea of owning a handgun less appealing to the public. By increasing gun control in America, we can create a safer and more promising future for the country.