In the light of the tragedy in Las Vegas this past Monday, we at The Fordham Ram, along with the rest of the campus and the country, echo the sentiment of Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the university, in his letter to the Fordham community: “we find ourselves again confronting the monstrous.” With the number of mass shootings on American soil piling up in the past three years alone, we must ask ourselves once again why such senseless acts, terrifying acts, unfathomable acts continue to happen.

It is easy to feel helpless in what is starting to become a routine in our country. We are angry, we are sad, we are tired.
But, these emotions should lead to an advocacy for change. It is not enough to wait for this problem in society to fix itself or work itself out. It is, as it has been all along, time to enact change so American lives are not lost to such senseless acts of violence. Therefore, we at The Fordham Ram agree with Father McShane that there should be stricter gun control laws put in place in our country.

Many pro-gun advocates argue that gun control would infringe upon the freedom of its citizens to own guns to defend their life, liberty and property. Although it is unrealistic to expect a totally gun-free society in America, the Editorial Board argues that the proper function of gun control laws would not be to take guns away from the American people, but instead would put measures in place to lessen the threat of mass shootings, with more background checks and psychological evaluations of gun-owners.

We acknowledge that there is a clear difference between using a handgun in self-defense and using an assault rifle on a crowd. It is the latter that we are focusing on in our desire for stricter gun-control laws. An AK-47 rifle does not have any practical use except for killing and maiming other people. It should be obvious, after tragedies like Las Vegas, that these guns should not be available to the general public. To that end, there should be federal laws implemented that prevents the stockpiling of weapons. The shooter in Las Vegas, according to CNN, had 23 rifles in his hotel room. To be frank, there is absolutely no reason why an American citizen would need so many violent and dangerous weapons like semi-automatic or automatic weapons.

We as college students are the first generation to have grown up with this epidemic of gun violence. It begs the question: Have we become desensitized? Is that why these shootings in America become more deadly time after time? We must break the cycle. Though a tragic and sensitive subject for us all, we must honor those 62 lives lost, and those 500 people in recovery, with continuing the fight against evil and terror. It is only through preventative measures, through working together to call those in Congress, to protest, to educate, that this dangerous cycle can finally be broken. In times such as these, we must lift our voices for those who have lost theirs.