Most everyone has heard the news of the 17 dead at a Parkland, Florida high school and of the response that has followed  so far from the American leadership.

What on earth has to happen for action to be taken? 141 students have been killed in school shootings since Columbine. What has been done in order to protect students? Nothing. Kinder eggs have for the longest time been banned in the U.S. after just one child choked on the toy; why have 141 been killed with no effect on the nation’s attitude towards guns?

This tirade is not very original. It is not the first of its kind, and it will most certainly not be the last unless action is taken NOW. After every shooting, the saccharine response is always the same. “Thoughts and prayers!” is the most common phrase uttered by legislators, usually accompanied by crocodile tears while simultaneously raking in cash from the NRA.

For example, John McCain (R-AZ) sent out a tweet much to the effect of what I described above. Would you like to know how much Mr. McCain has received from the NRA? $7.74 million! Why are these politicians not being shamed for this blood money? Why are they not being ousted as traitors to the country? The answer is simple: America is a country with a fetish for armed violence. America does not necessarily have higher crime rates than other developed countries, but rather American crime is more likely to be lethal; for example, a robbery in New York is 42 times more likely to be lethal than a robbery in London.

How does this all tie together, you may ask? Just kidding, you already know how. Guns. America has, by far, the highest rate of private gun ownership of any country. According to the NPR, there are 101 guns present for every 100 American citizens.  The next country, Serbia, is nearly half that at 58.21 guns per 100 citizen. Third place belongs to Yemen, at 52.8 per resident. What do all of these countries have in common? Pervasive corruption? Indeed. Poverty? You betcha. Violent crime? Bingo! It’s almost as if a higher rate of gun ownership correlates to more shooting deaths! Who could have seen that one coming?

I am not anti-gun. I support private ownership of guns by qualified citizens. However, notice my wording: qualified. It is far too easy for a gun to be acquired in America, which has the most relaxed gun laws of any developed country. Some countries, like Japan, have completely banned firearms.  More people die as a result of being murdered by the police in America than by violent crime in Japan. It’s truly astonishing.

Again, I am not calling for firearms to be banned. All I want is some action taken. Oust the politicians that allowed these acts of terror to take place, and regulate the nearly-uncontrolled gun issue. Only then will American schoolchildren be able to feel safe in their classrooms once again.