Columbine. Newtown. Aurora. San Bernardino. Colorado Springs. Charleston. The list goes on.

I can continue to ramble off the names of various schools, houses of worship, communities and public places where dozens of American lives have fallen victim to tragic events involving mass shootings. From just the six instances I have mentioned above, 78 innocent children, teachers, friends and family members have been gruesomely killed from simply living their every day life— something that no person should ever have to worry about.

However, unfortunately, the problem, and the numbers attributed to this problem, are much more serious and much more concerning as we head into a pivotal nationwide gun control movement and the push for tighter, more regulated gun policies.

Just within the past month, President Barack Obama has put the issue of gun control at the forefront of his agenda as one of the many changes that need to be implemented on a national level. His new plans for more gun control is a reaction, and a rational one at that, following the horrific events that occurred in San Bernardino on Dec. 2. Some of his policies include the improvement of enforced background checks on firearm sales and building a more efficient online background checking system that continuously monitors online gun transactions. Furthermore, Obama has proposed investments of around $500 million to increase access to mental health care.

With this in mind, it is necessary to understand that United States gun control is not an issue stemming from a single source or cause, but rather a problem that is multifaceted and complex. With access to the vast and seemingly endless world of the internet it is undeniably necessary that the government has the right to take initiative in order to provide American citizens with the protection they deserve and supply their people with the fundamental security that we simply cannot provide for ourselves. Therefore, Obama and his administration are justified in their initiatives in enforcing much needed revolutionary ways of controlling the gun sales in this country.

Many Americans who do not favor the increased gun control often resort to the idea that they are suspending their rights to the government and paralyzing the freedom they are entitled to by allowing the federal government to regulate firearm sales. However, government involvement does not require citizens to surrender their freedom and rights as Americans. All the federal government is doing is seeking out policies and plans to improve the current and very apparent problems that this country is facing in the light of recent, deadly events.

Furthermore, in a CNN poll recently published on Jan. 8, 67-percent of Americans are in favor of Obama’s gun control initiatives and support these executive actions.

The fact of the matter is that the American people need the assistance of the federal government to efficiently and productively make drastic changes in order to strive for the development of a more humane and a more peaceful society.