Access to guns in the United States (US) is too easy and the laws regulating access should be strengthened. Current US gun laws are very lax, which has led to excessive violence and gun-related deaths. Firearms are currently one of the leading causes of violence in the United States, and access to guns (legally and illegally) is very easy. There are currently approximately 211 million firearms in circulation, of which 70 million are handguns. (1) Today there is at least one gun in fifty percent of households in the United States. In 24 states, anyone 18 or older can walk into a gun store, fill out an application, wait a couple of weeks and then go home with a gun. In 33 states, gun owners are not prohibited from selling guns to anyone at gun shows. At gun shows, the gun buyer is not required to submit a federal background check, and gun show dealers are not required to be licensed to sell guns at shows. Critics call this the "gun show loophole" that allows gun owners to buy and sell guns as if they were selling them from home without the need for more stringent background checks and waiting periods before purchasing the gun. Supporters of purchasing guns without background checks do not believe this is a "loophole" because they believe the guns will still be obtained illegally. (2) Now, with easy access to guns, gun violence occurs too commonly on our streets, in our schools. and workplaces. Every 30 minutes a child or teenager is killed or injured by gunfire. (3) Young children and adolescents have become desensitized to this gun culture, and in many neighborhoods, children expect to die violently, possibly by being shot. Despite living in the richest, strongest, and freest nation in the world, children often don't have the freedom to believe that one day... in the middle of a sheet of paper... a gun several days later. There should be greater limits on the lobbying efforts of special interest groups, such as the NRA, and allow our nation's citizens to influence their representatives to strengthen our gun laws. Additionally, our mental health system needs to be addressed so we can keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill while providing them with needed mental health services. If guns are not a problem, then why are there so many guns per capita and why is the United States considered the most violent nation in the industrialized world (15). Our 2nd Amendment may guarantee our right to own a gun, but there is nothing that says we can't choose to legislate access to and the number and types of guns people can own. I believe specific laws should be passed requiring gun owners to have the same license as motorists.