America, it's time to talk about guns

The recent tragedy at Sandy Hook should kick start a much-needed national dialogue about guns. It should happen in legislatures and town forums, not in courts. Ever since Heller, the question of gun laws have been mostly in the courts and concerning the Second Amendment. Politicians have refused to touch this poisoned chalice, even when recent events show it is much needed. I believe we can have sensible and effective gun control laws, which are currently lacking, without infringing on the people's Second Amendment rights.

But we must start somewhere. The politically taboo topics of gun control laws, especially at the federal level, and how accessible guns are to the mentally unstable are serious questions we need to ask. Too many lives are at risk to gun violence in America, and arguably it's worsening. The statistics and unclear and messy as to whether more restrictive laws, or less laws, are correlated with gun violence. But the public needs to learn, debate, and devise solutions to this problem rather than let it go on only in the courts while we sit on the sidelines or in the possible range of fire.

"Let us make our country worthy of their memory."