Just recently Texas became an ‘open carry’ state for handguns. This means that licensed Texans are now allowed to publicly display their guns in holsters on their hip or shoulder. Texas is the 45th state in the United States to do so.

In Colorado Springs, Colorado, 33-year-old Noah Harpham shot three people this past Halloween. Apparently, a neighbor phoned 911 beforehand to call for help against the threat of a possible gunman but at the time, due to ‘open carry’ laws, Harpham was just legally considered to be exercising his 2nd amendment rights and the police had no liberty to do anything until he actually opened fire.

Harpham slaughtered three innocent beings and ‘open carry’ paved the way for his actions.

After mass shootings like the one in San Bernardino and the recent shooting in the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood, the need for gun control has become even more than obvious. But laws like ‘open carry’ are moving the U.S. in the wrong direction and opening a large window for even more gun violence.

A person could parade an AK-47 around on their shoulder and the police could do nothing about it until the person took the action to start shooting. How is that making America safer? Instead of enabling individuals to protect themselves according to the 2nd amendment, it is enabling people to murder without resistance and threaten the safety of others. Ironic? I think so.

In the wake of the increase in these shootings, politicians like Donald Trump and Ben Carson send thoughts and prayers but make no motion to get the U.S. what it needs: increased gun control. Obama has spoken out on the issue several times this year and if we’re to make progress in the future, we need control not idiotic laws like ‘open carry.’

45 states in the U.S. have passed this law including Missouri. In some states like Alabama or Colorado, licenses are not even required and the law is completely permissive. This is insane. We get it. You want your 2nd amendment rights, but at least see the need for strict regulation and let people live comfortably without flashing them a peek at your rifle.

More than 457 people died in hundreds of shootings this past year. Now, it is 2016 and surely time to take action. It’s time to repeal ‘open carry’ laws and ensure that the U.S. is getting safer, not creating the path for more acts of domestic terrorism.