Sept. 28, 2025 — Authorities say Thomas Jacob Sanford drove his truck into a Mormon church in Grand Blanc, Michigan, and killed four people and wounded eight … with a gun.
Sept. 27, 2025 — A man opened fire from a boat at the American Fish Co. bar in Southport, North Carolina, killing three and wounding five … with a gun.
Sept. 10, 2025 — Tyler James Robinson has been charged with shooting and killing Charlie Kirk during a speaking event in Orem, Utah … with a gun.
July 13, 2024 — Thomas Matthew Crooks fired from a rooftop at Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, wounding Trump and killing one bystander … with a gun.
Oct. 25, 2023 — Robert Card opened fire at a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston, Maine, killing 18 and wounding 13 … with a gun.
May 24, 2022 — Salvador Ramos stormed Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and killed 19 children and two teachers … with a gun.
Aug. 3, 2019 — Patrick Crusius walked into a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, killing 23 … with a gun.
Nov. 5, 2017 — Devin Patrick Kelley entered the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, killing 26 … with a gun.
Oct. 1, 2017 — Stephen Paddock opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas, killing 58 and injuring hundreds … with a gun.
June 12, 2016 — Omar Mateen killed 49 at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida … with a gun.
June 17, 2015 — Dylann Roof killed nine parishioners at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina … with a gun.
Dec. 14, 2012 — Adam Lanza slaughtered 20 children and six staff at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut … with a gun.
April 16, 2007 — Seung-Hui Cho murdered 32 and wounded 17 at Virginia Tech … with a gun.
Aug. 1, 1966 — Charles Whitman climbed the University of Texas tower in Austin and killed 15 … with a gun.
April 4, 1968 — James Earl Ray assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis … with a gun.
June 5, 1968 — Sirhan Sirhan assassinated Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in Los Angeles … with a gun.
Nov. 22, 1963 — Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy in Dallas … with a gun.
Different years. Different cities. Different motives, victims, and perpetrators. But every one of these preventable tragedies ends with the same refrain: with a gun.
Every year the U.S. suffers 600-700 mass shootings where four or more are shot. About 19,000 Americans are murdered … with a gun.
Now step outside the morgue into everyday life.
To drive a car, you must pass a written test, a driving test, carry a license — and buy insurance to protect others.
To operate a boat, you must study, pass an exam, earn a license — and carry insurance in case of harm.
To landscape a yard professionally, one needs a contractor’s license — and insurance for liability.
To build a house, you need permits, plan reviews, inspectors — and insurance against harm and defects.
Bars need complex permits and insurance before they can pour you a drink.
Cosmetologists must complete 1,000 hours of training and pass a state exam just to cut your hair — and usually carry insurance just in case.
Even to fish legally, you need a license, often with strict rules to protect the resource.
In nearly every part of American life, we must prove competence, undergo checks, complete training, and often carry insurance.
But to buy a gun?
At the federal level, there’s no license. No universal training requirement. No nationwide competency exam. If you buy from a licensed dealer, you’ll get a background check. But in many states, if you buy privately — from a neighbor, a relative, or even a stranger in a parking lot — there’s no requirement at all.
When the Founders wrote “the right of the people to keep and bear arms,” the most advanced personal weapon was a single-shot flintlock. One pull of the trigger, one shot, then 30 seconds of fumbling with powder and wadding. That was the weapon they knew. They never dreamed of AR-15s or Glocks.
Amendments can be amended to keep up with times and technology — if only we had the will. If only we loved our neighbors more than our guns.
If we must prove competence to drive a car or build a house or bartend a drink, shouldn’t we prove competence to own and operate modern weapons designed only to kill?
Until America demands the same responsibility for guns that it demands for cars, boats, hairdressers, liquor stores, and even fishing, we’ll keep reading the same news. Different cities. Different victims. Different years.
Always the same ending … with a gun.
Gary Horton is chairman of the College of the Canyons Foundation board. His “Full Speed to Port!” has appeared in The Signal since 2006. The opinions expressed in his column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Signal or its editorial board.