I have held a gun. I have shot a gun.

I have closed one eye as fear swept over me knowing I was about to pull the trigger and release a bullet that could potentially kill an innocent being.

I can remember sweating bullets as I pointed the gun at a target to shoot and thinking “What if something goes wrong?” Luckily, I never had any mishaps, but what if I did?

My heart aches for not only the innocent victims of all the recent shootings but also the sad mentally ill people who took their lives. I also hurt for the ones who have taken the lives of others and feel absolutely nothing inside when they shot the gun. It terrified me to even hold a gun, much less possibly taking someone's life. They are trying to get the help they need. How are they supposed to get better when they reach out for guidance and are turned away because they are mentally sick?

Our flag stands for freedom and what it is worth. Our country has been fighting for freedom as long as it has been standing. Brave men and women give up their lives, so we can live ours as we wish. They fly overseas not knowing if they will even make it back to the states, so we can do what...live our selfish lives and protest about how we want this and that done differently?

Our country has turned into an unsafe place to live and honestly makes me wonder how our flag is still standing at all.

I work at a mall; a place where people come to shop or walk and relieve some stress; a place that like school, people shouldn’t fear. As I was taking the trash out one night, I noticed the flag that was lowered, and I began to tremble. Immediately, I hurt for all the Florida shooting victims. I hurt for the Kentucky school shooting victims. I took a second to remember how many innocent lives our country has lost this year and then I became truly scared for my family, my country, and myself.

There is a gun problem. There is a mental illness problem. There is a people problem.

Yes, we need prayers and God. No doubt gun laws need to be stricter. But more importantly, the citizens of the United States of America need to act. We need to take action and hold up our flag that men and women fight to honor every day. I don’t want to see our flag lowered and know it is because innocent people have been killed.

We are constantly facing a controversy about people refusing to stand in front of the flag for the Pledge of Allegiance or National Anthem…how can you blame them?

Aren’t they more honest with themselves than those of us who stand and “honor” the flag meant to stand for freedom…when clearly we don’t even believe freedom exists. We need to start being honest with ourselves and realize there is a much bigger problem than gun control and it’s going to take a united nation to solve the problem amongst our nation divided.