After the deadliest shooting in American history happened in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, resulting in 59 deaths, people continue to face the controversial question: should we be doing more to stop gun violence?

The debate over whether or not there should be gun restrictions in America has been around since 1837 when Georgia passed a law banning handguns, which was later deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

While the debate has been going on for years, it has recently spiked in controversy due to the shootings that have happened in the U.S.

With shootings such as Columbine, Sandy Hook, Pulse nightclub and now Las Vegas, it’s hard to see how some Americans continue to disagree with banning guns.  After an Australian mass shooting in 1996, the country banned semi-automatic rifles and shotguns and passed laws that made it more difficult for people to own guns.

According to BBC News, Australia has not had any related gun violence issues since.  In America, however, there have been over 50,000 gun violence related issues so far in 2017, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Some may argue using these weapons for self defense is necessary, but it’s hard to see how a semi-automatic rifle is the way to defend oneself.  These weapons can kill large amounts of people at a time and don’t serve any purpose in an everyday American life.

Giving people easy access to such lethal weapons results in the shootings that make headlines. Politicians say change is needed but then continue to support guns in America.

People defend themselves and their weapons by saying it’s their constitutional right to own guns, but just because it’s in the Constitution doesn’t make it okay.  The Constitution is elastic to fit the needs of the American people.  If the Constitution never changed, people would still be able to own slaves and women would be unable to vote.