Hello Future President, today I will be writing about my opinion on why guns should be banned in America. According to The Fiscal Times, there were 372 mass shootings in 2015, with 475 people killed and 1,820 wounded. That's crazy! Since last Christmas (2015), there have been 27 citizens killed. In 2012, 58% of people wanted stricter gun laws, but in 2015 that percentage decreased, with only 47%. 48% of people also say they should be used for protection and protection only, but only 1,512 shootings out of the 48,143 total in 2016, says Gun Violence Archive. 

        Also, Gun Violence Archive says there have been 2,022 home invasions with gun violence involved. These people should be able to live freely and safe at their homes, not have their own property invaded. 1,774 of these shootings have been accidental, so to keep these accidents from happening, we need to ban these guns from American homes. Out of the 48,143 total shootings since the beginning of 2016, there has been 12,411 deaths and 25,700 injuries. These shooters are killing these innocent people and hurting lots of families across the nation. 

        Now I am going to compare the U.S., a country with guns that are not banned, to Japan, a country that guns are banned. According to gunfacts.info, 93% of guns in the U.S. are illegally obtained. The Japan Times says Japan was ranked the 2nd safest country in the world, with only 6 gun deaths since January 1st, 2016, says gunpolicy.org University of Sydney. OECD says there are 4.75 homicides per 100,000 people in the U.S., in Japan there are only 0.4. A sentence in the Japanese weapons law states, "No one shall possess a firearm or a sword or swords", with very few exceptions. According to the National Police Agency, there were only 8 cases of guns fired in Japan in 2015. 

        In conclusion, gun laws should be more strictly enforced in the U.S. for various reasons if we want to fulfill our title "United States of America", because we don't seem very united. 

Archive, Gun Violence. "Mass Shootings 2016." Gun Violence Archive, Gun Violence Archive,            November 4, 2016, gunviolencearchive.org. 

Dent, Millie. "21 Unbelievable Facts About Guns in America." The Fiscal Times, The Fiscal               Times,  January 7, 2016, thefiscaltimes.com 

Yoshida, Reiji. "What Are The Chances of a Mass Shooting in Japan?". The Japan Times, The            Japan Times,  June 13, 2016, japantimes.co.jp