The Second Amendment gives the average citizen the right to keep and bear arms. This problem has been around for a while now, but the recent school shooting in December of 2012 by Adam Lanza, an unstable man who had access to assault weapons, killed 26 people. Do you feel safer with the Second Amendment? Many people think that these mass shootings could have been stopped if the government had never repealed the 1994 assault weapons ban or if we had done universal background checks, keeping this ban in place could have saved 26 adults and children from dying . Not only do mass shootings happen too often, but so do attacks that end in tragedy. Trayvon Martin is just one of many who were killed for being an average teenager in the United States, only for his life to be cut short because he decided to walk through a very inhospitable neighborhood. Under the Second Amendment, ordinary citizens are not protected by current gun control laws. Mass shootings often occur in a country that is the land of the free and appears to be safe. Universal background checks are a necessity. Too many assault weapons end up in the hands of the wrong people, and the consequences are irreversible. One incident that happened in Connecticut is Sandy Hook Elementary School. This is a great example of how assault weapons ended up in the hands of the wrong person. Adam Lanza was not the owner of these weapons, but he had access to them. With universal background checks the lives of 20 children and 6 adults could have been protected. Columbine is a great example of why universal background checks are needed. The shooting occurred on April 20, 1999. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were the killers, they got their hands on guns and bombs and attacked the school. They killed a total of 12 people... middle of paper... Living in a country where we are portrayed as the land of the free and home of the brave does not help our image during mass shootings, murders and innocent people they die. Many people leave their home country to achieve “the American dream,” but if that's how they see ours, we'll be that much better off too. Having universal background checks and the same gun laws for all fifty states will improve many things in our country. Fewer innocent lives will be killed, fewer people will become criminals, fewer people will suffer. If we want this country to be safer, we need to take steps in the right direction, we need to improve gun control to make everyday citizens feel comfortable with the people they encounter during the day. Improving the security of our country is one way to improve our country. Country, what would be the point of leaving your family and friends, for something that might not be?