There are three words that can undo the curse of gun violence: universal background checks.

On Monday, July 18, Nicole Hockley, founder of Sandy Hook Promise in Newtown and the mother of Dylan, killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School; Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy; former NYC Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly; Kings County District Attorney Ken Thompson; and Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper addressed "America's Curse: Gun Violence," at a Reuters Newsmaker event in Times Square.

The forum, moderated by Newtown resident and Reuters Breakingviews Editor Rob Cox and Reuters Editor-At-Large Sir Harold Evans, and planned even before the most recent atrocities that have put our flag at half-staff 15 days since June 12, once more gave voice to an issue that remains unaddressed by a Congress cowed by the National Rifle Association and a vocal minority.

Easy access to military-style weapons, large capacity ammunition magazines, a powerful and fear-mongering National Rifle Association (NRA), public inertia, and a Congress without the backbone to do the will of the majority of Americans, said these respected panelists, contribute to "America's Curse: Gun Violence."

Gun violence is a health issue. It is a mental issue, a legal issue, and a moral issue.

It is an issue, however, that can be addressed when legislators decide to do the right thing. After 12/14, the sale of automatic weapons was banned in Connecticut, and magazines holding more than ten rounds of ammunition were disallowed. Rather than resulting in any kind of "gun grab," these sensible changes have helped reduce the state's crime rate to a 50-year low.

New York, California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Hawaii are among the other states that have tough firearms regulations. Is it a coincidence that states with stringent gun laws have the fewest gun deaths - whether from criminal acts, suicide, or accidents - than states with weak gun laws?

"What the hell is going on?" was a question raised by Sir Evans at the Reuters forum, and one that he is not alone in asking. What the hell is going on, is that even when those with a collective expertise based on experience and facts speak out, those who hear them do not take action.

Inertia will not bring about change, and inaction says that a culture of violence has become acceptable.

Those three words that will change our lives for the better must be said, not just by experts, but by every person who values every life.

Congress owes it to the public to remove one obstacle to peace of mind. Congress must do what Monday night's panelists - and thousands of constituents - demand: make universal background checks the law.

Gun violence is one curse that does not take magic to undo.