I’m sure that the click-baity headline of this article in no way surprised anyone. All it takes is just a little common sense to understand that you should not leave both a curious toddler and fully-loaded assault rifle out of sight for any amount of time, but apparently that is too much for some American parents and gun owners to handle.

Over the course of 2015, 43 shootings have been carried out by children under the age of three. In 31 out of the 43 cases, a toddler found a gun and shot themselves by accident. 18 only sustained an injury, but an unlucky 13 died. To put that in perspective, only about nine Americans have been killed by domestic terrorism in the same period of time.

Guns pose a real danger to all innocent American lives, especially our children. Accidents do occur, and the only way to prevent horrific deaths and injuries like these is with strict gun regulation. California, for instance, has one of the most regulated gun industries in the country; prospective buyers must first pass a written safety test and wait a 10-day period before purchasing a gun off the very strict roster. How many toddlers acquired and shot guns? Zero. No kids shot themselves or others and, most importantly, no lives were lost.

Meanwhile, Missouri had the highest rate of shootings of all 50 states, and it is not just a lucky coincidence that Missouri also happens to have one of the most relaxed gun laws. In Missouri, people can walk into gun shops without a permit or ID and walk out on the same day with a gun in their hands. As a result, five toddler shootings took place this past year.

The argument we always hear against gun control is that regulating the industry would be taking away our constitutional right to bear arms. In reality, what supporters don’t realize is that the Founding Fathers truly intended for guns to be well-regulated; to defend the state, not act against it.

Another thing we hear a lot from Second Amendment supporters is that guns are needed to keep our families safe. The argument is that guns are necessary to defend from property-invaders or burglars. What they just don’t understand is that having a gun in your house poses a bigger threat to young children than an armed robber.

What is it going to take to get better gun regulations in place? We have proof and data supporting that stricter regulations equal less innocent lives lost. Will it take even more lives of innocent toddlers to convince gun supporters of the danger that guns pose to all American lives?

Source: The Washington Post’s Wonkblog, The Telegraph.