One month ago, a murderer fired at the Gilroy Garlic Festival killing three and injuring thirteen. More than nameless numbers, they were loved. They were family. They were us.

For many of us here, going to school just an hour away, it’s a jarring wake up call. One that said, “the problem has come to our home now.” But what is the problem? After the tragedy, the country reacted by speculating as to why someone would murder so many, inflicting pain and anguish upon all involved. Some blamed mental health or immigrants or video games. Or, more simply, the culture of hatred running rampant in our world.

This is a valid question to ask and address. However, the fact is, to effect any progress on the country’s immediate problem, gun violence, we have to focus less on the why and more on the how. How do these murderers kill? The answer is in the name: guns. The common factor in all gun violence in the country, which killed nearly 40,000 people in 2017, the last year with complete records, are the guns people use to kill. 

Simply postulating about why killers kill after each heinous crime while maintaining the easy access to guns implicated in the violence will not solve the problem. Rather, gun control and reform are necessary in making any progress in slowing our country’s epidemic down, allowing us to more easily address the why behind the gun violence by giving us more time.