On a Tuesday afternoon in December, loud sudden bangs were heard inside the Clackamas Town Center Mall. Many people in the mall misunderstood the noises for balloons popping or racks falling, but it was the sounds of gunshots.

Two people were killed in the shooting and it affected many people in our community. Steven Matthew Forsyth a West Linn resident, was one of the two who was killed. He was 45 years old and a father of two children.

Gun violence is a major problem in many different places and something needs to be done to fix it.

Gun control is a debate people have been having for a long time now. It is okay to keep a gun for protection, but violence resulting from weapons is not acceptable. Most Americans in the United States already support gun control. Gun violence happens every day, and the situation has been escalating.

President Barack Obama has wanted Congress to vote on legislation to reduce gun violence.

“Overwhelming majorities of Americans, Americans who believe in the 2nd Amendment have come together around common-sense reform – like background checks that will make it harder for criminals to get their hands on a gun,” Obama said in his State of the Union address on Feb. 8.

After Obama’s speech about gun violence, 92 percent of Americans supported background checks for people that buy guns. It was found that 91 percent of American gun owners also support universal background checks.

Adding more laws and restrictions on guns could be a great solution. Coming from a study of national crime data, states that have less restrictive gun laws are the states with the highest rates firearms related injuries and deaths. Gun violence definitely needs to stop.