While guns are used to kill, they are also purchased and stored as an object that provides comfort and reassures individual safety. Civilians believe they need weapons to protect themselves and secure their homes and families. Wilkinson reports that "the percentage of Americans who think having a gun in the home makes them safer has doubled since 2000." This is proof that an increase in mass shootings comes with an increase in the number of guns in the United States. One reason for this increase is that our society believes that the only way to protect yourself from being shot is to own a gun yourself. If our communities “did not feel so threatened by America's violent tendencies, they would be less likely to want to arm themselves in response” (Wilkinson). Basically, Wilkinson is saying that without controlling mass shootings, the number of guns in the United States will skyrocket. Furthermore, if guns were to be restricted, Americans would be deprived of their own sense of security. Even if something needs to be done about guns, taking them away is not the solution.