Dear President of the United States,

I am a 12th-grade student from Colombia. I live in New York City and I believe that the country needs more laws to control who can buy a gun and use a gun. The Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States gives the people the right to have a gun. However, the control over who can use and have a gun is very weak. In the news, we are always hearing of shootings in different parts of the country, something that to me is very disappointing and sad to hear and see how the lives of innocent people are being taken away by guns that got into the hands of the wrong people.

One of the issues that are discussed in the conversation about gun control is the minimum age require to shoot and have guns. In Arizona, a nine-year-old that was learning how to shoot an automatic firearm lost control of it and accidentally killed her instructor: “Charles Vacca, 39, was shot at the outdoor shooting range in White Hills, Arizona, about 60 miles south of Las Vegas. Vacca was showing the girl how to fire an Uzi when she lost control of the weapon and accidentally shot Vacca in the head”. This is a clear example of why the Federal government must take action because there is a need for laws to regulate who uses guns. 

The weakness of the existing legislation also adds up to the discussion, the laws exist right now can be easily bypassed, things like background checks are not required in every place that sells guns and that presents an important problem because criminals are acquiring guns without being checked. “Requiring a criminal background check for all gun sales is the single most effective policy for keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people and saving lives. But currently, background checks are only required under federal law for sales conducted by licensed dealers. This lets criminals and other prohibited purchasers acquire guns — often from strangers met online or at gun shows — without a background check, no questions asked”. With the criminals being able to get guns online, the work of the authorities becomes much harder and it makes it almost impossible to know who are the people that are buying guns in the country. 

NRA members have always been opposing to any type of law that the Federal government tries to pass to ensure the secure of guns. However research conducted in 2013 by a group of public health officials shows that states with strong gun laws have lower rates of death. “A 2013 study by a group of public health researchers examined the relationship between the overall strength of a state’s gun laws and rates of gun deaths in the state and found that states with stronger gun laws had lower rates of gun deaths than states with weaker gun laws”. This is a clear example of how gun control will ensure everyone's safety and more innocent lives will be protected. 

The need of gun control in the United States is very clear: many lives have been lost already but many more can be saved. I propose to make the background checks stronger across the country, have health checks every year for those that have a gun license, and make them renew their license every year. Hopefully, you as President will find a space for my purpose and, unlike other previous presidents, you will take action to make this possible because the people of the United States need gun control. America is bleeding.

Sincerely,

Resident Z

References

Tragedy at gun range sparks debate. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://newsela.com/articles/uzi-kids/id/5061/

Murphy, B. S. (n.d.). Background Checks - EverytownResearch.org. Retrieved October 31, 2016, from http://everytownresearch.org/issue/background-checks/

(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/guns-crime/reports/2016/10/11/145830/america-under-fire/