Need freedom from guns

Regarding my native country, the U.S. I fear your obsession with guns. As if the world doesn’t already have enough violence, you are drowning in your own blood, a civil war one might call it, fueled by a lack of gun control laws.

My hometown of Lexington suffers from shootings on a daily basis, yet so many Kentuckians continue to adamantly defend their right to own and openly carry a weapon, which just perpetuates the cycle of violence. If it is because of fear that you own a gun, I ask you to reflect on how heart-wrenchingly ironic this is: a country founded on the ideals of democracy and freedom lives with the fear of dying from a fellow American. Do you call this freedom?

This story was originally published October 6, 2017 at 6:19 PM with the headline "Need freedom from guns."