Dear Future President,

Gun control in America is a failure. Most of the attempts at “controlling” guns have failed. ATF agent Jay Wachtel says, "Stolen guns account for only about 10% to 15% of guns used in crimes," the rest are from people bypassing laws. The criminal mindset is that you will not be caught so why would adding more laws prevent them from breaking those too? What we should do is allow good honest Americans to arm and defend themselves from these criminals. Most of these laws actually help the criminal by making the victim defenseless.Gun control has now become a hot topic in Texas. While I can support some gun control limitations such as background checks, the failure of most acts of gun control prove that America should not make stricter gun rules.

The government in Texas has become mostly republican and they are trying to expand gun rights, which I agree with. They recently passed a law that allows students and staff members at public colleges and universities to conceal and carry in certain zones. They also allow open carry of long barrel rifles and shotguns if it is in a non alarming/threatening manner. I do not believe this is bad in anyway, it allows people to better defend themselves.

Many students at Texas University think that this is dangerous because it means students could have a gun and you wouldn't know. This makes them feel unsafe but others think this is a great idea. You may think that this would make school shootings more common as it allows students to bring a gun on the school's premises but I think it's the opposite. If even just half the student at a school had a weapon on them imagine how easy it would be for them to defend themselves and their fellow classmates. They would no longer have to run and hide, hoping to not be found until police got there. They could stop the shooter right then and there.

What most of America hasn't realized is that criminals can still get guns and bypass through these laws. Many people use what is called a “straw purchase” and just walk in with a family member or friends to have them buy the gun. Why haven't we stopped criminals from doing this? When there are areas people can’t carry they can be preyed upon by criminals. We must understand that criminals can get these guns through other people and these laws aren't affecting them like they’re supposed to.

I understand that you may want to try and make it harder for criminals to obtain guns, but you cannot come at it like the nation has been. We keep making it harder for everyone to legally get guns not just criminals. You say that if everyone is without a gun it's safer but that's not the case. So we should lighten up on all the limitations put on the kind of weaponry Americans can obtain. Even if there are limitations on what you can carry into a workplace or on the street Americans should be allowed to defend their own home. Having a gun can also stop group confrontations if there are multiple people attempting to attack one person. That Future President is what we should really do.

Sincerely, Ashton