If you’re someone who enjoys making incendiary comments and you feel like starting a fight, just walk into any establishment in the country today and spark a debate about gun issues. I assure you that, no matter what reaction you were expecting, you’ll get that plus extra!

Now, while all gun issues are rather touchy subjects (to put it mildly) there are some that are even more sensitive to bring up than others.

A classic example of one such topic is the highly controversial issue of background checks on gun purchases. Gun lovers have a firm belief that this exercise is a waste of time (and an infringement on the #SecondAmendment) while pro-gun control advocates believe that this measure is highly essential.

Personally, I believe that background checks before making a gun purchase is only common sense, regardless of how that might reflect on the #Second Amendment. I’m willing to concede that, perhaps, this is an especially bold and harsh claim.

However, this stance is backed by perfectly sound reasoning. Let’s delve into that now.

To start with, it’s vital that we not forget that there are perfectly good reasons why guns shouldn’t even be on the streets in the first place. Among these multitudes of good reasons include the fact that these weapons are a leading cause of death in the U.S. today. Additionally, the incidents that result from gun violence drain millions of dollars of taxpayers' funds through channels like law enforcement and medical costs.

But, perhaps the biggest question is why we would even need such sophisticated guns in the first place when we have a fully functional police and military.

Sure, a firearm is great for hunting and a few other sports activities. But is that enough reason to let all and sundry have access to these tools? Should that serve as enough incentive to overlook the potential danger of guns falling into the wrong hands?

But, okay. Let’s assume that guns don’t kill people but instead, people kill people. Let’s also say that guns are critical to hunting and other forms of recreation.

Yet, even with these suppositions, there’s no reason to claim that background checks shouldn’t be employed when buying a gun. Fundamentally, guns are dangerous and it isn’t too unreasonable to want to be sure that whoever is getting a firearm is mentally stable enough to manage the enormous responsibility of owning such a tool.

There are several cogent reasons why it shouldn’t be too difficult to get behind a #universal background check for any would-be gun owner.

For one thing, not having a secure and foolproof background checking system is essentially tantamount to rolling out the welcome mat to convicted felons to come and purchase firearms! Because there would be no way to effectively identify them for what they are, they would be able to exercise the same rights as regular civilians to get something that they’re almost certain to use to perpetrate evil on society.

Yet another reason why the concept of universal background checks for people who want to get guns is long overdue for implementation is that it’s sure to discourage criminals from accessing this resource through normal channels.

Again, just like with felons, it’s illegal for criminals to obtain or possess a gun. The motivation behind this is self-explanatory. Only a good background checking system can help ensure that a hardened criminal doesn’t walk into any gun dealership and walk out with a firearm like you or I would.

Something else that makes a strong case for universal background checks is the ever-increasing occurrence of mass shootings that the country seems to be recording these days. The argument can be made that most of the individuals who perpetrate these heinous actions didn’t deserve to hold a gun in the first place.

And, at the risk of making counterfactual statements, it is possible that had background checks been run on these individuals, many of them wouldn’t have secured these firearms at all and many lives would’ve been saved as a result.

The standing argument against instituting universal background checks is that it would make it considerably harder for law-abiding citizens to get these weapons. This is simply not true. While it might make the process of getting a gun a little longer, this measure isn’t likely to complicate things for regular Americans in any appreciable manner.

And, let’s be frank for a moment; there are lives at stake here, most of which (if not all) are innocent and law-abiding citizens themselves. Even if the background check process makes it a little harder for even law-abiding citizens to secure a firearm, would that necessarily be such a bad thing?

Answer this question considering the fact that this process can be what makes the difference between whether a mass shooting occurs in another elementary school or not.

It’s high time the entire nation faced the facts. We’ve been far too complacent when it comes to who gets these weapons and who doesn’t. And while we would want to believe otherwise, history has repeatedly shown us that not everyone can or even should be trusted with a gun.

Universal background checks won’t always hit the mark every single time. That much even the most hardened gun control advocate will readily admit. However, you can bet that this system will do a splendid job of identifying many potential threats before it’s too late.

So, should there be a national requirement for background checks on the purchase of a gun?

Yes, there absolutely should be!

And, the sooner this is in place, the sooner we can all breathe safely on the streets!