In the agonizing days following a mass shooting, people often share their opinions online about gun control. Tweets from students who suffered through the Parkland, Fla., shooting flooded our Twitter timeline. These tweets urged President Trump to take action on gun-control, but once again he made no statement on that topic. Instead, he tweeted how the shooter was certainly mentally disturbed, and that we need to take action against mental illness. This is ironic, coming from Trump, considering he’s been attempting to repeal the universal healthcare that would provide people with mental illness therapy and medicine that they so desperately need, but that’s beside the point.

Unfortunately, as Americans, we are initially met with a great sense of remorse when hearing about these atrocities, but it follows with a saddening feel of familiarity.

Assault rifles, more specifically AR-15s, were used in the Parkland, Las Vegas, Sandy Hook, Aurora, San Bernardino, and Orlando shootings, which are five of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in American history. AR-15s are classified as military grade assault-style weapons. They are the civilian version of the military’s AR-16, except that it fires semi-automatic. Still, this weapon is made specifically for killing — it fires military grade NATO rounds, it accepts large-capacity magazines,  and is accurate up to 600 meters.

There is absolutely no need for any civilian, regardless of their background, to have access to a military grade weapon. Self-defense is a general justification that people have for wanting to own a gun. According to The CT Mirror, people with firearms are more than twice as likely to commit a violent crime, including homicide, than those without access.

Another common argument is that the Second Amendment gives us the right to bear arms. However, these laws were put in place in the anticipation of a British invasion or a domestic monarchy, which are no longer concerns. This amendment is outdated, and in actuality we have been given the protection of the National Guard thereby making the argument mute for civilians owning such weapons. Owning a registered handgun, after a thorough federal background check, will more than suffice for “self-defense.”

Just a day after the shooting took place, a video from inside one of the classrooms went viral on Twitter. In the video, a spectator can hear 19 shots being fired within just 14 seconds. Another video showed a police officer lifting an injured girl off the ground while she was covered in another classmate’s blood. This is similar to when reporters televised footage from the Vietnam war and created a sense of unity for the public because it finally put a sense of reality to the statistic that is so often overlooked. These videos show the horrendous damage that can be done by using a military grade rifle, instead of just talking about it.

In America, this 19-year old who had previously been expelled from school for violence, reported to the FBI for making videos on YouTube and making comments about becoming a “professional school shooter,” was still allowed to buy an assault rifle with no waiting period and no background check. Something must change, and we must stop being bystanders to these vicious acts.

A controversial tweet from far-right public figure Tomi Lahren went viral, which read “Can the Left let the families grieve for even 24 hours before they push their anti-gun and anti-gun owner agenda? This isn’t about a gun it’s about another lunatic.” To which a student from Parkland responded: “I was hiding in a closet for 2 hours. It was about guns. You weren’t there, you don’t know how it felt. Guns give these disgusting people the ability to kill other human beings. This IS about guns and this is about all the people that had their lives abruptly ended because of them.” It is not about the left or the right, it’s about preventing mass-murder and providing an environment where Americans can feel safe in their schools.

It is Congress’ responsibility to protect the children and people of our nation. Barack Obama tweeted, “Caring for our kids is our first job. And until we can honestly say that we’re doing enough to keep them safe from harm, including long overdue, common-sense gun safety laws that most Americans want, then we have to change.”

The last time that Congress actually discussed restricting gun laws was right after Sandy Hook, which was more than five years ago. Everyone then was sure Congress would outlaw the AR-15 after that carnage. Connecticut did, but Congress refused to enact such a ban. Since then, there have been 1,606 mass shootings, 239 of which were school shootings where more 438 people were harmed and 138 were murdered.

The fifth anniversary of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting passed last December, with Congressional Republicans speaking out about how they would not consider passing new gun control laws and instead advocating for laws that would weaken gun restrictions and make it easier to carry guns across state lines. “Donald Trump won the White House campaigning on a promise to support the National Rifle Association, the influential gun rights group, and oppose any limits to Americans’ right to own guns” explained Lois Beckett, gun safety advocate.

Lawmakers should be required to read about the lives of the people killed. They should be forced to look at the pictures of  the bodies of the 49 people in Orlando, the 59 in Las Vegas, the 25 in Texas, the 14 in San Bernardino, the 26 in Sandy Hook, the nine in Charleston, and the 17 in Parkland, Fla. Maybe then the lawmakers will have found the courage to act in the best interest of America.

—  Written by Taylor Hay; edited by Editorial Board.