In 2010 alone, over eleven thousand people were murdered by firearms in the United States. It is terrifying how often we turn on the news only to find a new report on another horrific shooting. Just this past July, a man charged into a theatre filled with people, killing twelve and injuring more than fifty-eight. He had the following in his arsenal: two Glock pistols, a shotgun, and an AR-15, a gun that was made illegal in 1994 by the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act. This law unfortunately expired in 2004. On top of purchasing those three weapons from separate Colorado gun dealers, the shooter managed to obtain thousands of rounds of ammunition online. Without raising any suspicion, he reportedly had over ninety packages delivered to his apartment over the course of a few months. If there had been stricter gun laws, this tragedy may have been prevented.

Lenient gun laws allow for shootings like this to occur. There are many things that can be done to prevent future shootings similar to this one. For instance, there is no reason that any civilian should own an assault rifle. These guns, capable of killing masses of people, need to be banned immediately. Also, restrictions need to be made on the online market concerning both guns and ammunition. To see how easy it is to purchase ammo online, I registered at a popular gun auction site and within minutes I was able to purchase gun ammunition and parts. Another loophole commonly used to buy guns is at a gun show. At these events, private owners can sell their guns without licenses, and people may buy them free of any background checks. At the Columbine shooting in 1999, the killer’s friend had purchased one of the guns used at a gun show without restriction.

To prevent shootings like the ones at Aurora, Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Tucson there must be preventative measures. These measures are certainly not allowing more people to have guns but instead to have stricter gun laws put in place that allow for more extensive and tangible records of owners across the country.