On Feb. 11, there was yet another school shooting in a U.S. high school.

It wasn't the first one of the year or even of the month, and it certainly won't be the last. According to a study by the National School Safety Center, we can expect hundreds more before the end of the year.

Why, then, are people so resistant to the idea of gun control?

Many people expected last year's shooting at Virginia Tech to trigger immediate gun-control legislation, but unfortunately, that was not the case.

Rep. Michael Capuano of Massachusetts summed up the reasoning behind this lack of action when he said tackling gun control is "just not worth it" in an interview with the Boston Globe on April 23, 2007. He also said while he would ideally like to support stricter gun-control policy, fighting a losing battle on such a divisive issue would be political suicide.

But that doesn't mean the battle shouldn't be fought. Some of this country's greatest social changes were made only after long and arduous struggles. Activists lost their lives in the fight for women's suffrage and civil rights. It took a civil war to end slavery. Change in a democracy is never easy, but it is something we must fight for.

The last time the Democrats held a majority in Congress, they made some headway on gun control. In 1994 they passed a federal ban on the sale of semi-automatic assault weapons, but this ban expired in 2004 under a Republican Congressional majority. Now that the Democrats once again have control of Congress, they should begin pushing for stricter gun-control laws.

While no amount of legislation or foresight could ever completely prevent a tragedy like the one at Virginia Tech last April or the one in Tennessee on Monday, more effective gun-control laws could at the very least make such events more difficult to execute.

Background checks should be more thorough for purchasing guns. There should be stricter limitations on the types of weapons that are made available to the public. Such legislation might seem draconian, but it is necessary.

According to a study by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the vast majority of guns used in deadly crimes during the last decade were purchased legally.

Many conservatives might see gun-control laws as irrational and reactionary - an extreme overreaction by the bleeding-heart liberals, and many more will cite the Constitution and their Second Amendment right to bear arms.

But tougher gun-control laws are necessary, even if they are reactionary, and the Constitution occasionally can use a revision.

The law of the land must be adapted to address the issues society faces, and when so many citizens lose their lives because of gun violence every year, it is more than our right - it is our responsibility - to respond.

Jessica Hensley is a sophomore in political science. Please send comments to opinion@spub.ksu.edu.