Days after the largest mass shooting in the history of a country blighted by mass shootings, the dust in Nevada is far from settled. In fact, the entire country is again unsettled about the seemingly constant debates over poor gun control laws, the weakening support for those with mental health issues, and the developing fear of violence that people have when gathered in a crowd at large events. Watching the horrifying videos filmed at the country music festival outside the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas, it is clear to people that something is rotten in the United States. It is clear that something needs to change. Now, we must ask ourselves: what can be done, why hasn’t anything been done already, and how many more people need to be mercilessly slaughtered for action to be taken?

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 1,518 mass shootings with 1,715 people killed since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December 2012. The Sandy Hook massacre was supposed to be the last straw, a heartless act of violence where twenty innocent children and six compassionate adults lost their lives. So why has nothing changed? Gun controls are still sadly lacking in many states, gun ownership in the U.S. is higher than any other developed country, and people don’t seem to connect gun numbers to death numbers and the number of mass shootings, despite significant data to support the correlation.

As a foreigner from a country with little gun violence and private gun ownership (according to the Small Arms Survey in 2007, England had an estimated 6.6 guns per 100 residents for a rank of 82 compared to the number 1 ranked U.S. with an estimated 112.6 guns per 100 residents), I have never really understood the United States’ preoccupation with guns. Whether it is the nostalgia of the cowboys of the Old West, the vehement upholding of the second amendment, or the fear and paranoia created by extreme political and racial tensions, I just don’t understand why a country needs more guns than people. More guns than people! And that only includes the legally registered firearms. I’ll just let that sink in.

Many argue, including myself, that there needs to be a complete overhaul of U.S. gun control laws and an increase in the depth and strictness of background checks. Unlike many other countries, including the U.K. and Canada, there is no federal law restriction on purchasing semiautomatic assault weapons in the U.S. These guns are designed to kill on a massive scale. As such, they simply do not need to be owned by civilians. Furthermore, even though the federal government mandates a minimum standard regarding gun control laws and background checks, many individual states have separate laws that circumvent federal policies. This means that the requirements to carry a weapon are all different from state to state. That doesn’t sound very “united” to me. How about a ban on all semiautomatic and automatic weapons and a centralized background check that disallows anyone with a criminal record or mental illness to ever own a gun? I would also create a restriction on the number of guns that any one person can own: one hand gun for home protection and one rifle for hunters who have a valid hunting license. No exceptions.

“But what about our second amendment rights?” I hear people shouting. “This will be a restriction on our freedom!” I hear them cry. I would argue that with every massacre and mass shooting that occurs, people are losing peace of mind about gathering together, and with that, they are losing some of their freedom. Every time you turn on the news, there is a new terrorist attack or shooting being displayed in all its gory detail. Innocent people being shot. Kids being cut to pieces by bullets in their school classrooms. Rampaging psychotics with automatic weapons shooting, glass-eyed, into crowds of people. Isn’t it worth a little restriction? I know that is a very un-American attitude, but hear me out. Narcotic drugs are bad; they are dangerous, addictive, and often lethal. Thus, they are illegal. Drinking and driving is also bad; it is dangerous, irresponsible, and can lead to death. Thus, it is illegal. Kinder Eggs, small chocolate eggs that contain a toy on the inside, are illegal in the U.S. because they are deemed a choking hazard to small children. These things are restricted to protect people. Surely these laws are as much of a restriction of personal freedoms as more severe gun restrictions would be? Yet with guns there is an uproar, and it is always a battle to legislate more strict laws. Could this be because the NRA (National Rifle Association) is very active politically and donates millions of dollars to the Republican National Committee? I will leave that up to you to decide. Perhaps if Ferrero donated millions of dollars to their chosen political party, they would be able to sell their extremely dangerous Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs.

It may be deemed insensitive to bring this issue up in the wake of the heart-wrenching event in Las Vegas. It is also not the only debate that must be addressed because the declining state of mental health support and the crippling pressures of American society could also be thrown into the arena. However, if we do not have this debate now, when will we resolve this issue? How many more innocent people need to die before people are willing to look past amendments and politics and money and let common sense prevail? Let us hope that we don’t have to wait until after the next massacre.