Today, Feb. 1, 2023, there have been 3,715 gun-related deaths, according to Gun Violence Archive. 

While incredibly depressing, that number isn’t all that surprising. Guns are deeply rooted in American culture, as well as the incredibly lax gun laws. 

It’s these laws that allow the astronomical amount of mass shootings or any kind of gun-related violence of recent years to happen in this country. Laws that need to change. 

Indiana joined 12 other states as a “constitutional carry” state. This means anyone over 21 in these states who hasn’t committed a “serious violent felony” is allowed to carry a firearm, along with other specified weapons, open or concealed without a permit. That is ridiculous. The idea that about a fourth of the U.S. population over the age of 21 with intent ranging from personal protection to opening fire on a school can now freely access firearms without question is ridiculous. 

Indiana became a “constitutional carry” state on July 1 of last year, a mere 16 days before the first Greenwood Park Mall shooting. 

In the other 37 states, there is at least some restriction. However, it isn’t enough. According to healthdata, the U.S.Hi ranked first among developed countries for gun-related homicides per 100,000 people in 2019. 

The process of purchasing a firearm in a registered gun store is as easy as filling out a questionnaire-style form and a phone call by the retailer to the FBI for them to run the “necessary checks,” a process that only lasts a few minutes and still allows people who otherwise shouldn’t be able to purchase guns to buy them due to simple clerical errors.

One such person is Devin Patrick Kelley, the Sutherland Springs church shooter, who shot and killed 26 people and was able to buy four weapons in both Colorado and Texas despite being court-martialed by the U.S. Air Force for abusing his wife and son. 

All of this applies only to registered gun stores, however. Private shops and gun shows are permitted to sell guns without background checks. So, if a person doesn’t pass a background check at a registered gun store, they can simply go to a private shop and get whatever they want there without anything stopping them.

Gun control reform and simple changes to these existing rules could mean a steep decline in the lives lost due to gun violence in this country. This has long been more than just a political issue. This is a human rights issue. And every day without gun reform results in the death of thousands.