Dear Next President,

Although I am young, I feel strongly about gun control/gun violence. When I watch the news, I see so many shootings that happen, and I don’t feel safe anymore because death from guns can happen anywhere at anytime. The gun laws need to be strong to make us feel safe again. There are also guns that should not be in the hands of anybody in the country, and on June 13, 2016 Hillary Clinton said, “I believe weapons of war have no place on our streets. We may have our disagreements on gun safety regulations, but we should all be able to agree on a few things. If the FBI is watching you for suspected terrorist links, you shouldn’t be able to just go buy a gun with no questions asked. You shouldn’t be able to exploit loopholes and evade criminal background checks by buying online or at a gun show. And yes, if you’re too dangerous to get on a plane, you are too dangerous to buy a gun in America.” I share the same views as Hillary Clinton. I realize that Hillary Clinton may, in fact, be you, the next US president. If so, i want you to address gun control as you promised. If Mr. Trump is reading this, I want you to understand my concerns.

Gun control is a topic that I care about a lot, except I don’t have any personal connections with guns. There are no guns in my house and I have never fired a weapon, but there are innocent people in this country that are being murdered because guns fell into the wrong hands. There was a mass shooting at a community college in Oregon that killed 10 people. Current President Barack Obama had a speech about this days after it happened, and here is an important thing that he said, “Somehow we have gotten used to this. It happens all the time. We have become numb. We talked about this after many other shootings. It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to harm other people to buy a gun.” Future US President, if we don’t act now, this country will become even more numb to gun violence.

That shooting could’ve been prevented if we had better background checks and if we would have banned certain guns. This did happen though, Bill Clinton passed a law that banned people from buying assault rifles. That is what we needed until George Bush banished that law and then made it possible again for people to buy assault rifles. These guns are made for war, not for the streets of America. Also, the devastating event of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The shooter was 20 years old and he took the lives of 20, 6-7 year olds who barely lived a life. That person also killed 6 adult staff members. This could’ve been prevented if the assault rifle he used, was banned.

Hillary Clinton’s plan is to expand background checks, take on the NRA, and keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, other violent criminals, and the severely mentally ill. We need to use common sense when making gun laws, and Hillary does that. According to Hillary’s website, “As senator, she co-sponsored and voted for legislation that would close the gun show loophole, voted against the dangerous immunity protections for gun dealers and manufacturers, and co-sponsored legislation to extend and reinstate the assault weapons ban.” Also, the article on Hillary’s website explains that, “As a candidate, she is honored to have the endorsement of many groups working to take on the epidemic of violence, including the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and its Million Mom March chapters, the Newtown Action Alliance, and Everytown for Gun Safety—including Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.” Those are all groups that I feel the next president should support and help them win their battle.

So, whoever is the next president, I hope you can focus on an important topic to me and this country. I hope you can take care of gun laws and make them stronger in order to benefit our country and help it be a peaceful one. Americans need to feel safe on the streets again.

Sincerely,

Malachi D., Pennsylvania