America is in a state of crisis. Time and time again, horrifying and inhumane mass shootings have been launched on the general American public, with an influx of attacks in the recent decade. And indeed, now, more than ever, it seems like the most pressing time to reform in order to prevent further happenings. Yet amidst of all the confusion and chaos that has arisen from the sorry state of America’s grasp on public safety, it seems that America’s political scene can’t seem to agree on just about any of the subjects that are crucial to the solution of America’s problem with mass shootings. Gun control in particular has politicians on completely different ends of the spectrum, with the Democrats generally in favor of some form of gun control or another, and the Republicans firmly against it. Recently, President Obama has made a number of gun control proposals that essentially call for background checks to ensure that members who end up purchasing guns are indeed capable of handling guns responsibly and for greater enforcement of existing gun control laws. Republicans understandably oppose these proposals, with the party’s leaders almost universally panning the President’s plan as “unconstitutional” and “backwards from where we want to go”. Yet in the end, common sense gun control, such as the plans put forth by President Obama, actually may be the spark to the eventual kindling that may become a solution to our current dilemma. After all, it’s blatantly obvious that our current system is not working. And quite simply, the plan makes sense. What Obama essentially advocates for is two things: ensuring, with background checks, that the people who purchase guns are indeed mentally fit to own and responsibly operate firearms, and second, that existing regulations are properly executed in the way that laws should be executed. On paper, the plan is fairly objective, as its sole purpose is to ensure regulation of firearms in a way that ensures a decrease in the number of gun mishandlings in the U.S. It’s also important to note that although the plan does essentially regulate to some extent the purchase of firearms, it only regulates the sale of firearms to people who aren’t fit to handle one, which is exactly what should be happening in the first place. Yet it is also important to understand that Obama’s gun proposals could fall horribly flat. It is equally likely that Obama’s gun regulations will have little to no effect, as the plan doesn’t account for the purchase of firearms through third-party vendors, which is where the majority of guns used in these sorts of shootings are purchased. It seems that only time will tell about the future of American public safety, but it’s equally safe to take note of an established certainty, in a time marked by tumult and uncertainty: something needs to be done, and something needs to be done fast.