There is no doubt that there is a lot of violence in the news today, from school shootings to near murders of people every day. It's strange though, when I hear about these crimes, guns don't go to jail. It is the people who commit the crime who pay the price. Rifles and weapons should be available for civilian use. Recent shootings have called gun ownership into question. The most recent massacre was the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, in which 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed several children and teachers. What we now know is that Adam suffered from not one but several different mental illnesses. These illnesses were largely ignored by his parents. During the 1999 Columbine shootings, we now know that both boys suffered from depression and wrote that they were thinking about killing themselves. We also know that they studied their plan for months, even a year, before it was implemented and they made bombs. In April 2007, student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and injured 17 others on the Virginia Tech campus using two handguns. Cho had purchased the weapons legally, but subsequent investigations following the deaths revealed that Cho had a well-documented history of mental health problems. In college, he was diagnosed with severe anxiety and other disorders. At the time, the Virginia Tech shooting was the largest such incident in U.S. history. Where were their parents at that time? From what I know, the Obama administration wants to get rid of guns. The administration is composed of the president, the vice president, their spouses, and the cabinet which includes the vice president and the heads of 15 executive departments which include the secretaries of agriculture, commerce, defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housin...... middle of paper ...... health curriculum should teach gun ownership/responsibility. And finally, parents must take responsibility for their children. In both cases of school shootings, there was evidence of mental illness and the parents should have helped the children. Parents should stop trying to be their children's best friend and watch their backs, talk with their children, and take care of them. In conclusion; Weapons should be available for civilian use! The government should not seek to take guns away from American citizens and leave them defenseless against criminals. This is a direct violation of our Second Amendment right. The problem isn't the guns, it's the people pulling the trigger. Education, parental responsibility and certain restrictions such as age and background checks must be applied. I leave you with this...GUNS DON'T KILL PEOPLE, PEOPLE KILL PEOPLE!