Guns are possibly the single most glorified item in all American culture. We see them in our movies, our heroes, our sporting stores, and worst of all, there are barely any restrictions on buying them. After what we've seen in cases such as the Columbine and Virginia Tech massacres, why do we still do nothing about these menacing tools?

In California, anyone over the age of 18 can go to a gun shop and buy any legal weapon they want, which fortunately excludes AK 47s, the most widely used guns by terrorists to kill American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, AK 47s are legal in 43 other states, including Virginia and Colorado. Shouldn't the government discourage the sale of such weapons, in the nature of true patriotism? By keeping them legal and readily available, the government facilitates conditions for another school or public shooting.

The shooter in the Virginia Tech massacre was diagnosed with mental issues, but did this stop him from buying several handguns? Absolutely not! Any person who has any history of any mental illness must be banned for life from purchasing a firearm. We cannot take chances when it comes to the lives of innocent people.

Even though guns can be used for self defense, there is no need to allow the mentally unfit to be allowed to use an instrument of death. Prospective gun buyers should go through psychological screening and peer review to see if they are fit to wield a weapon. This would weed out many possible criminals and force them to go underground to attain a weapon, which would be much more lengthy and complicated. The Virginia Tech massacre could have been avoided if only minor steps were taken to prevent the shooter from getting a gun and putting him back in a mental institution where he would be separated from society.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) argues that if everyone had a weapon, there would be no more crime. What a ludicrous assumption! If everyone had a weapon, people would be able to commit crimes much more easily and create a vigilante atmosphere in public places.

As a society, we must ensure that guns are kept out of the hands of those who are not fit to carry them and try to prevent another incident like the Virginia Tech massacre.