Image Source: anyjazz65

We, The People, of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union once decided to write up an almost biblical literature giving us a series of unalienable rights to forever run through our American bloodlines, in hopes that one day anyone who said otherwise would get a swift kick in the nads and hit in the eye with the butt of our shotguns. And nothing says true American like a glass case full of shotguns in your Texan neighbor's bedroom. According to The Washington Post, there are 9 guns to every 10 adults in the U.S., making it the highest number of guns per capita in the world. There are 740 million guns if you want to be more specific.

Now I bet you cannot help but think, "How many people at my doctor's office lobby have a gun with them when I go for my yearly checkup?"

With the recent shooting in Connecticut, our nations love for guns and the 'patriotic' wannabes, the NRA, the U.S. is still finding it difficult to say no to guns. But why, you might wonder, doesn't the U.S. simply provide better limitations for or ban guns altogether?

Here are 10 Reasons Why America Has a Problem with Gun Control:

1. Our loose definition of self-defense and the right to bare arms. Travyon Martin's death/murder further proved Florida needed a better definition for self-defense for its "It's totally okay to shoot a defenseless person if you maybe, possibly, really really feel the need to because you might, possibly feel you may be threatened".
2. The American fixation on guns. Guns are the light-sabers of society. Cool, gangsters have them. They are seen as the ultimate protector of evil. It's our automatic response to violence. We think it makes us invisible. We like our whiskey smooth and our guns nestled under our pillows.
3. Our news loves instilling fear into our minds. The 5-oclock news isn't helping lower our fears that someone is out to kill us. Apparently, walking down the street in any neighborhood will result in you dying via firing squad. I grew up in a small town where a murder would happen maybe once in 10-15 year time span and the crime rate was so low cops would all flock to a house fire. But watching FOX's news show once would make anyone afraid to step foot outside their front yard. Every crime that had occurred in 24 hours in a 500 mile radius ends up in one fear-driven a two hour show for your viewing pleasure.
4. We stereotype the 'typical' gunman...and stick by it. A loner. A heavy metal fan. Someone who liked to pop a few ADHD pills once in a while. Introverts beware. You're prematurely on the Most Wanted list. Anyone who has ever committed a mass shooting or decided to rob a 7/11 fits the typical gunman profile concocted by news reporters across the country. Somehow, someone gets his/her hands on (or manipulate), forever putting fear into our minds whenever we see a tired art school student.
5. We don't educate ourselves on the cause and effects when using guns. Sex education is required to be taught in schools, so why aren't we educated on gun use more often?
6. We tend to forget about our 99 percent. Low income and poor neighbors expect to see more violence. Life on the streets can be tough when you grow up thinking the only way up is by avoiding a bullet to the head. Gang violence, people. It happens.
7. Our society treats depression like it's a disease. Once upon a time, a man went to a therapist to discuss his recent bouts of depression. The therapist laughed, told him he was delusional, and gave him a box of placebos. This man went on to write a screenplay based on this experience. Now I'm not sure if this legitimately happened, especially since I just made up this story, but a long time ago someone had a bad experience when he or she went to see a therapist/psychiatrist and made it into the over-used stereotype of 'the loner'. Ever since then the country thinks that going to therapy is bad and AA is the only way to admit you have a problem. Now if a person has a mental problem, they are more likely to deny it ( as the people around them do as well) until the person reaches his or her breaking point.
8. It's harder to get a driver's license, a bartender license, and to rent a car than it is to get a gun license. You must pass a series of tests, physically make the drinks, and have a driver's license, credit card, & be 25 years old to be considered for any of these. But for a gun: pay a fee, fill out a form, and wait 30 business days before you get a license. Then again, many mass shootings were conducted with borrowed guns.
9. We can buy bullets at Kmart. Kmart, the third-cousin of the Walmart enterprise. Cheaper, arguably stocked with lower quality items than a dollar store, and an infamous place to buy your bullets? Yep, we have a problem with gun control.
10. We are in constant denial. Insert newest scapegoat here. Whether it's video games or listening too much of that damn 'Devil's music' (a.k.a. songs by Justin Bieber), some major enterprise gets yelled at for 'causing' mass shootings. Because that makes perfect sense?

What we see as a solution to a problem has now become nothing more than our blacklisted birthright. Call us crazy or call us gun-lovers. Whatever the reason may be, a cap still hasn't been put on the purchase of guns since the beginning of our nation (other than forbidding people from having guns due to racist or sexist reasons).

Forget video games, movies, comic books, or television. Pull every gun-like toy off the store shelves and see what's left for kids to play with. If people are so afraid of each other, than why don't we find a solution to our problems rather than arming ourselves with an AK-47. There are so many more of us willing to give out hugs than those who want to shoot a bullet in your ass because you took away their Xbox.

A gun has always been and will always be a weapon used to kill a living being. Colt and Winchester created such iconic weapons with the purpose of killing in mind.

Unless it has the words laser, nurf, or super soker in its title, or lights up and makes a pre-recorded sound when you pull the trigger, a gun can cause harm to another person.

Will the United States be able to put our fears aside and embrace better gun restrictions for the future of our nation? Or will every mass shooting be just another blood soaked memory in our country's history?

Bonus: Check out the video below by Itay Gil, the CEO of Protect-USA, and his recommendations for defense against gun threats. 

For more information, view the U.S.'s current gun laws here and here.

 For more articles like this, visit my WebTv page, WebTv channel and blog posts on Film Annex.

Keisha Douglas is an independent filmmaker who specializes in music videos. When she is not filming, she spends much of her time blogging and freelance writing. She is the voice behind Mito Vox, an entertainment & etc. blog. To learn more about her freelance services visit her website. View all her Film Annex posts on her WebTv Channel.

Gun image source: woodleywonderworks