I am not a political person. I don’t like to talk politics. I try to avoid the news for that reason. Sometimes, the news comes to me. That was the case last week when I learned of the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Mass shootings have been a subject of debate as far back as Columbine in 1999, but especially prevalent since the Sandy Hook elementary shooting in 2012. Coverage by news networks and ever-expanding media make it feel as if more and more mass shootings occur each year. I’ve already written about mass shootings this school year in November, after the Vegas shooting.

I could write a novel about the mass shooting issue. It’s so broad and there are so many points and facts and ideas to consider. It’s impossible for me to share and discuss every idea I have in a 600 word column.

Essentially, two different sides form on the issue of mass shootings, each with their own valid points. The side comprised of mostly right-leaning people argue that it is more an issue of mental health, not guns. The left-leaning side tends to argue it is more guns than a mental health issue. Much to people’s disagreement, I side with the left.

I haven’t always sided with the left on this issue. In high school, I tended to be more right-leaning. After so many school, church and other mass shootings, I couldn’t ignore the patterns.

Every county in the world has scores of people with mental health issues, and yet we lead the world in these types of mass shootings by a mile. We have some of the best health care in the world, spend billions treating mental health and we don’t experience civil war or insurgencies like the Middle East or Africa. So, what’s different?

We have so much freedom to wield guns in this country. There are so many weapons available, and access is relatively simple depending on the type. If you can agree with the premise that we have more firearm freedom than other countries, wouldn’t more regulation and fewer AR-15s help?

I’m bothered by the people that chalk it up to a mental health issue, throw their arms up in the air and say something to the effect of “more regulation won’t do anything, criminals will find a way.”

Jordan Strack of WTOL made a great point. If that argument were true, then why would we build a wall to stop illegal immigration? Criminals will just find a way, right? Laws must have some effect, otherwise there wouldn’t be any laws.

People are terrified of the slippery slope banning weapons would create, but that’s not the solution I’m proposing. I don’t care about banning people’s handguns.

Taking away all guns isn’t the answer. Absolutes are almost never the most effective solution. People should be allowed to keep their handguns, like the kind my mother has.

The point is, we as a nation have to do something. We cannot just conclude that the fight to stop mass shootings is a futile one. Whether you believe it is a mental health or gun issue, there must be laws passed in the near future that effectively end the ability for mass shootings to occur.

If America can do that, it would be one of the great achievements of this country. We can band together in the aftermath of tragedy, put our foot down and declare “no more.”

We can say enough is enough, and tell the lawmakers in this nation that change is needed. People deserve to live in peace, not violence.