As a teacher in Roseburg Oregon and member of this peaceful community that recently suffered the horror of a mass shooting, I am shocked into the realization that our country is far behind the rest of the developed world in its legislation to prevent gun violence.

Seeing my community grieve over this senseless tragedy and loss of innocent lives, I am suddenly and painfully aware that current gun-control laws in the US are grossly inadequate. Citizens of this country deserve to feel safe in public and this requires a federally mandated law firmly restricting and regulating the purchase of guns. 

State borders don't protect citizens. Oregon has relatively tight gun-control laws, but such state-determined laws are virtually useless as they cannot prevent people from bringing guns in from another state or purchasing them on the internet. Gun-control measures must be implemented on the federal level if Americans are to feel safe anywhere and everywhere in this country.

I have lived in various European countries where such laws have been in place for decades and have felt much safer there as gun violence is almost unheard of. These countries have all recognized one simple fact: guns are weapons and as such are instruments of violence and destruction. To give the ordinary, untrained citizen access to them is irresponsible and a danger to the greater population. 

One often hears the argument that guns don't kill people. True, but neither do bombs, tanks and nuclear weapons and yet these are not available to the general public. Why? Because their potential danger is obvious. Guns are also obviously dangerous and a major threat to public safety but our country has grown up with them and is so used to them we ignore the fact.

Smoking in public was banned because of its potential threat to public safety, yet a person who cannot legally smoke in a bar can carry a gun into one and use it at his or her discretion... Something to think about.