In response to the mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, the country’s prime minister announced a “military-style semiautomatic weapons” ban that is pending approval from parliament. While New Zealanders sort out this country-wide motion, Western society fails to address the “other” startling trend that exists among mass shooters — it’s not the possession of guns, but the lack of fathers in the home.

So how does this connect? We can start with narratives in today’s society that condition us to believe that only one parent — the mother — is necessary, and that the “other” parent isn’t all that important. Barring widows and women made mothers as a result of rape, unmarried and divorced moms are portrayed as queens and are worshipped in the sense that their flaws are overridden by their position as a single parent.

Fathers, on the other hand, are viewed as the “idiot male” who can’t figure out how to open a can of beans to feed his family. Not only is this painfully inaccurate, this harmful, degrading portrayal only exists to obscure the good that fatherhood does in that it equips children with the tools of self-control and emotional balance, at the very least.

For daughters, the lack of a father often results in lowered self-worth and attention-seeking behavior through promiscuity and delinquent behavior. But the result is different — and arguably more catastrophic — for sons. Something much worse happens to boys who don’t have daddy around to tailor them into strong, independent, and emotionally secure men.

At the very least, boys without fathers in their lives grow up to become weak-minded and overly emotional. But at the very worst, they become violent and unstable, unable to cope with society’s ups and downs. They seek to answer life’s unanswered questions through force. In the most unfortunate sense, this results in the loss of life — be it their own or those of innocent bystanders who are at the mercy of a society that puts fatherhood last on a child’s hierarchy of developmental needs.

Those with left-wing views avoid addressing the innermost needs of these broken men. Instead, pundits and politicians argue that the source of mass violence isn’t the person committing the act, but the specific weapon used. If only this specific type of gun were never in the hands of the public, they insist, mass violence could be effectively curbed. But much like taking away a toy doesn’t stop a child from playing, imposing a ban on “machine-style semiautomatic guns” will do little to resolve the intent to commit acts of violence.

The last thing on the mind of the broken and unlawful is whether a harmful act is legal or allowed. But the first thing on our minds should be how we can prevent the next generation of boys from adopting a violent mindset.

Being father to four boys isn’t easy, but it’s a joy. I know that with every lesson, every football game attended, and every sit-down discussion, I am doing my part to reshape society by creating confident men who would never resort to using harm to answer questions that fatherhood exists to answer.