A previously unthinkable act has become an American norm.

The country is approaching the twenty year anniversary of the tragic Columbine Shooting that left 13 dead, not including the shooters.

You’d like to believe that people are more cautious and measures are being taken to take gun violence out of schools, but that is not what has happened.

Since Columbine, there have been 739 more school shootings in the United States. Since Columbine, 369 people have been shot and killed in schools.

Since Columbine, no progress has been made toward controlling gun violence.

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the people’s right to bear arms.

People aged 18 and older can walk through the doors of their local Walmart and purchase firearms. Parents keep guns within arms reach of their children so they can “protect their family”. All that is needed is a gun license.

In order to obtain one, a person must pass a quick and simple background check and have a valid ID.

It’s that easy.

In Colorado, over 1,000 schools were closed because of an 18 year old from Florida named Sol Pais.

Pais flew from Florida to Denver, Colorado and upon arrival, purchased a pump-action shotgun and ammunition.

According to NBC News, Pais had been keeping a journal online that held her thoughts about suicide, pictures of guns, and writing that alluded to plans she was making. Investigators say Pais has an obsession with the deadly shooting at Columbine High School.

If Sol Pais had gone through a proper background check and was mentally evaluated, she would never had been able to purchase a gun.

The background check a person has to go through to buy a weapon is simple. If the person has no criminal marks on their record, they are free to purchase a gun. The process does not include an evaluation of one’s mental state, but it should.

Someone who has no criminal background, but is in an unhealthy mental state is extremely capable of hurting themselves or others.

Peter Langman, an expert on the psychology of young people who commit rampage school shootings, says there are three types of shooters. The traumatized, the psychopathic, and the psychotic.

“The traumatized shooters come from dysfunctional families,” Langman said. “Poverty, abuse in the home, sometimes they are in and out of foster care, there is no stability. Eventually, the rage and depression build. The other two types come from essentially stable and intact families. One type is psychopathic. They have no empathy, no remorse, no respect, they are going to do what they feel like doing. They are often sadistic, so they get a thrill over having the power of life and death.”

These people have mental issues that need to be considered when purchasing a gun. They could have no priors, but the intent to kill.

Gun control is no longer a political issue, it is a matter of life and death.

It is time for change. The process of purchasing a gun needs to become longer and harder. More precautions need to be taken.

Continue to protest, keep raising awareness.

Fight for gun control.

Fight for your life.