Of all the things politicians of California should do, making laws that restrict guns is the most important. Guns are harmful to our already-troubled society.

Recent events like the slaying of the innocent young children in Newtown, Conn. only adds fuel to the fire.

How many more times do we have to see innocent lives end at the hand of a madman wielding an instrument of death, one that can take the life of a human being in the blink of an eye.

Tragedies like that of Newtown shouldn’t be tolerated anymore. Drastic measures have to be taken to prevent these violent killings from happening.

According to KQED.org, gun ownership-to-citizen ratio in America is 89:1.

The second country with the highest gun ownership ratio, Yemen, has a gun-to-citizen ratio of 5.48:1, according to Guardin.com.

The website also states that nearly 9,146 people die each year from gun deaths in America.

How many of those people could have contributed to our great country?

Those children from Newtown had their whole future ahead of them. One could have been the doctor to find a cure for aids.

Another could have been the next astronaut to explore the universe. How about one that could have been next president to bring change to this country.

But where does our humanity lie if we can’t control guns?

What if there was a mass shooting at Cerritos College?

Do we have to wait for something horrible to happen so we can argue about what should be done?

Lawmakers of California should follow the actions of what New York has done with controlling gun violence.

New York banned semi-automatic weapons with military like features, it limited the magazines of pistols to seven bullets per magazine, and the new gun laws require private gun sellers to perform background checks through NICS, National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

With some strict guns laws, people will eventually get the message that guns aren’t worth it. People will be less inclined to buy guns, meaning less people dying from those guns.

With some strict gun laws in California, we can avoid the deaths from the barrel of a smoking gun.

These potential gun laws can be essential for creating a more productive and safe society.

Guns cause only pain and anguish.

They destroy the lives of families and cause great pain.

Maybe these gun laws won’t stop gun violence altogether, but it will create progress.

Progress that we need so we can provide future generations with a safe environment.

California lawmakers should be examples to the rest of the world, and that they should send a message that California is a place of opportunity not of violence.