Dear future president,

We are sure you are aware of the ongoing issue with firearms and the laws concerning them. It’s almost unavoidable. As the president of the United States you must address this issue. You have given your input on the issue in the past so we think it’s time you hear the opinions of a few high-school students who are future voters, P-Tech academy students, and American citizens.

Applying for a gun license and obtaining it really isn't that difficult. And I guess it shows considering the amount of concealed firearm carrying permits have skyrocketed, growing from 4.8 million to 12.8 million since the 2008 election, according to the Crime Prevention Research Center. How can we be certain that all of these 12 million people are stable and are not on the no-fly list or not registered in the terrorist screening database? See, we believe that we don’t need more gun control laws;, what we need to do is strengthen our gun control laws that are already in place. Dylan Roof, who is responsible for the Charleston Church shooting, passed his background check despite previous arrests for drug possession and trespassing. Could you possibly imagine having a loved one murdered due to a faulty background check? We need to make sure that background checks are effectively investigating individuals who apply for gun licenses.

I’m sure you know the basic requirements of obtaining a gun license. Obviously you must be an adult (18 years or older), you must not have been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor for which a sentence of imprisonment that lasts a year or longer and you must not presently be an alcoholic, addict, or habitual user of a controlled dangerous substance unless it is medically issued. But why does it seem that these requirements are being bypassed? Focusing on improving the quality of background checks seems like it should be a priority, especially in today's times. How could we do that? We could possibly require gun owners to pass tests and get inspections and insurance. And maybe we should do something to close the gun show loophole. But again it’s not our call to make;, we leave it up to you and Ccongress. But taking away guns from hard-working, tax-paying, law-abiding American citizens is certainly not a priority in our eyes.

We high school students have developed our own informed opinions on the topic of gun control, but we can all agree that background check quality must be improved to keep the lawful innocent citizens safe from unstable gun owners.

Sincerely,

Stephen, Luke, Robenson, and Glenton of Excelsior Academy