It seems that the world is slowly being taken over by mass shootings, leaving several people dead, injured or even missing in some cases. The controversial debate on gun control within our country and around the world continues. Some feel gun control limits violence and should be increased, but the amount of mass shootings that take place in addition to the number of people being killed beg to differ, and support the idea that gun control should be more lenient in order to allow citizens to feel secure.

Gun control may take the form of different polices or requirements such as the demand to store firearms in safe locations or requiring those who wish to own a firearm to take certain safety courses. One of the issues gun control faces is that it restricts law abiding citizens from protecting themselves when their lives are in danger by the hands of criminals who disregard the laws entirely.

“I think it’s important that people are able to have a way to defend themselves if they need to and it’s really wrong that some gun control laws are too strict to even let people do that,” sophomore Jose Chang said.

France, being one of the most strict countries regarding gun control, stands as a perfect example of why such heavy restrictions on gun control should be lifted. Recently, multiple tragic terrorist attacks in Paris left 129 people dead, 352 wounded and 99 in serious condition. Not one these victims had the ability to defend themselves from those terrorists because of France’s strict restrictions on weapons. If they had been able to defend themselves, the attacks would have most likely ended with a much smaller death toll.

“Well, it would make sense that areas with stricter gun control would have more mass shootings, because people are basically sitting ducks in the eyes of the attacker,” sophomore Edwin Luna said.

Shockingly, gun free zones tend to be the target of most mass shootings, since criminals view citizens in these streets as easy targets since they will most likely not retaliate. Some countries should consider placing more lenient gun control laws that would allow their citizens to defend themselves while still keeping guns out of the hands of individuals who should not own a firearm – those that are not mentally stable, the main culprits of mass shootings and gun violence that influence people to advocate for stricter and more controlling forms of gun control.

By implementing stricter gun control, governments give criminals the advantage and opportunity to harm people by knowing that they probably will not have a way to defend themselves. The proper screening of potential firearm owners and bans on assault weapons are essential in order to decrease the likelihood of mass shootings and other forms of gun violence.