Sunday morning, a lone gunman walked into the Pinelake Health and Rehab nursing home in Carthage, N.C. and opened fire, killing seven residents and a nurse while wounding three others.

The victims ranged in age from 39- to 98-years-old and the gunman was apprehended at the scene by police officers.

Incidents like this highlight the need for increased federal gun control legislation.

For full disclosure, I'm a hunter and enjoy going to the shooting range to take out some frustration on some unsuspecting soda cans and clay pigeons.

But when it comes to gun control, there needs to be more than the ole' redneck adage of using two hands instead of one to steady the gun. More than 80 Americans are killed and 200 injured from gunshots every day, so obviously something is flawed with our current system.

It's not the gun ownership rate that's the problem -- many countries have high rates of ownership and low rates of violent crime. Rather, it's the regulations around gun ownership that eventually determine the violence rate.

First, the problem needs to be confronted at the initial level: sales. Current background checks are slow and out-dated.

Given modern-day technologies, there needs to be a national database of potentially harmful buyers (i.e. felons and drug abusers) available almost instantaneously.

This database would not restrict the sale of guns to the responsible, law-abiding citizens the gun lobby represents while keeping guns out of the hands of would-be criminals.

While this would help regulate the legal sale of firearms, most guns used in crimes -- anywhere from 40-75 percent-- are obtained illegally, either through theft or gun traffickers.

Most illegal gun trafficking begins with a "straw buyer," someone who legally purchases one or several guns with the intent to sell them to buyers who would not clear a background check.

If the guns they use to commit crimes are traced back to the original straw buyer, the straw buyer often times will say the gun was stolen, absolving him of responsibility.

Each year, more than 600,000 guns are stolen from homes or dealers. While federal law requires federally licensed dealers to report stolen firearms, individual owners do not.

This is where seven states and the District of Columbia have taken action by passing legislation that would require gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms to law enforcement.

Last spring the Pennsylvania legislature voted down such a proposal, but recently, cities such as Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, have explored passing such laws at the local level.

This law would allow police officers to be on the lookout for stolen firearms and conduct gun sweeps to get stolen weapons out of the hands of criminals.

Rep. John Pallone (D-Westmorland) said he opposes Pennsylvania's bill because it makes the victim of the theft a criminal, adding responsible gun owners would report the theft to authorities regardless.

But how do gun owners become the victims? If, as he said, most responsible owners would report the theft, they wouldn't be punished, so why not make it mandatory so those owners who wouldn't report stolen guns, or straw buyers, would be more easily apprehended.

Anti-gun control advocates argue increased regulation simply acts as a tool for governments to confiscate guns and empower the criminals. By allowing easier gun sales, they say potential victims could be armed and defend themselves if needed.

But even New York City Police officers have only about a 20 percent hit rate, and they're trained professionals. Considering most Americans aren't marksmen, they'd be more prone to miss their target and put more innocent victims in the middle of dangerous crossfire.

FBI crime statistics showed that between 1992 and 1998 the violent crime rate in states with strict concealed weapons laws dropped by 30 percent, while in states with lax laws it dropped by only 15 percent. Not requiring a test for concealed weapons permits would actually increase potential harm.

Am I saying guns should be made illegal in the United States? No, most owners are responsible, law-abiding citizens with no intent to harm anyone. They have a right to bear arms, but all Americans have a right to be safe and monitoring the sale and theft of guns would help make this country safer.

Andrew Wible is a senior majoring in journalism and is The Daily Collegian's Friday columnist. His e-mail address is ajw5050@psu.edu.