In the wake of the One year anniversary of the Virginia Tech Massacre, and the ten year anniversary of the Columbine Shootings, and most recently the Northern Illinois University shooting, it is now more important than ever to tighten the gun laws around the country. On April 16, 2008 thousands of people across the nation remembered the 32 victims of Virginia Tech, and protested lax gun laws, which allowed shootings such as these to happen. Although California is ahead of many states with gun laws, there is still too much access for people to get a gun if they really want one. This year a new piece of legislation is being introduced to help prevent the trading of guns. AB2235-Personalized Handguns is using technology to try and stop the spreading of handguns. It would require the registered owner to have their fingerprint taken, so that the gun would only recognize their hands, and therefore they would be the only one’s allowed to shoot it, according to Kay Holmen, southern California chapter president, of bradycampaign.com. This would prevent the people who are authorized to by handguns from buying them legally, and then illegally selling them to others, who then use them in various types of crimes. Under the second amendment the people have the right to bear arms, but under certain circumstances, exceptions need to be made. Violence all over the world is at a high, and unfortunately the United States is on the top of the list. According to statistics found at bradycampaign.com the United States has more than four times as many deaths by gun than other countries. That doesn’t mean that nothing has been done to try and prevent it though, last year a piece of legislation called 20B-Microstamping, was passed by the government. This law requires bullets being sold to a person to be imprinted with the serial number of their gun. This would make it easier to trace the bullet back to the owner, who is not going to want their name on something, therefore preventing them from loaning their gun, or selling it to others. However this law will not take effect until 2013 according to Holmen. The current laws that are there are not strict enough, and that is why so many people are killed by gun each year, many of which are street related violence’s, drive-by shootings, and other senseless crimes of hate. According to protesteasyguns.com it only takes a person an average of three minutes to purchase a gun. In perspective, it took the shooter at Virginia Tech three minutes, 180 seconds, to purchase the weapons that would take 32 innocent lives, injure others, and forever change the lives of the 32 families, who lost a loved ones. The amount of time it takes to buy the guns is barely enough time to drive through a local fast food restaurant to grab some food, it is about the amount of time it takes the average student to walk from Pacific Heights over to the main campus, and it is enough time for a basketball game to change the lead at least seven or eight times. Should a person really be able to get a hold of a life-threatening weapon in that amount of time? There needs to be stricter policies on background checks, and a waiting period when a person goes in to buy a gun. People should have to register, submit to a background check, and go through a more detailed process than picking which gun they want, paying, and walking out of the store. Although that is not the current laws, it appears that buying a gun is as easy as that. The current laws in California state that a person does not need to be licensed to have a handgun, they do not need to have a permit to purchase the handgun, or even a rifle or a shotgun. There is no license needed to carry a rifle or shotgun, and these are all actions that need to implemented into law, so that the weapons that are out on the streets we walk everyday can be counted.