October 28, 2016

President of the United States

Dear President,

Congratulations on becoming the 45th United States President. As president, I understand you must make many decisions for the country, one of which being gun ownership. In recent years, there have been many different interpretations of this amendment, but it is important that the Second Amendment remains intact to the US due to the amendment being incorporated into very the foundation in which our government was created.

Contrary to the past, the right to bear arms has evolved to protect the citizens rather than to form a prepared military (Lund). A great example of guns being used as protection can be found in a recent incident that occurred on September 2016 when a group of criminals broke into a woman’s home in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Upon entrance, the woman practiced her rights by shooting the men with her own firearm, saving her life (“Woman Shooting at Burglars”).

Another reason why gun ownership should be protected is if guns were to be illegal in the United States, criminals would continue to use weapons against the law (Berlow). A complete ban on guns would cause even more trouble because criminals would be the only ones with guns, leaving the law abiding citizens defenseless. As president, you must protect the United States citizens, so denying citizens’ rights to own a firearm would put the people in great risk.

Gun ownership has its benefits, but the main flaw with guns is its connection to violence. The violence that comes with guns could easily be extinguished if there were better laws enforcing gun regulations in America. It is important for you to know that current gun laws are actually outdated. For example, the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) regulates gun control by forming a database that contains registered weapons. However, most firearms found at crime scenes are unregistered anyway, proving the NFA useless (Berlow). You could fix the NFA by implementing a larger system of gun control in order to stop gun violence and maintain the right to bear arms at the same time. As president, I am sure that you can find time to help create better gun enforcement laws to make gun ownership legal, with the cost of having it regulated so criminals do not abused guns’ power.

Another example of an outdated gun law can be found in the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA), which restricts the mentally ill from owning firearms. The GCA is poorly enforced by the government because in many cases, the mentally ill are found at crime scenes with a gun that was obtained legally ("GUNS & MENTAL HEALTH”). Even though the NFA and Gun Control Act mean well, they are not enforced by the government very well and need to be redressed to have a safe United States, where guns can still be owned legally.

The poor enforcement of gun regulation does not stop here. Within the United States, there are many cases where citizens abuse the power of guns. In 2012 at Connecticut, a man named Adam Lanza entered Sandy Hook Elementary, killing twenty-six people, which I am sure you are familiar with. Many adults, including parents, begged for a national law enforcing background checks on gun owners after this incident, but they were tragically shot down by organizations such as the National Rifle Association, who supports guns ownership for everybody (“How Mass Shootings Spark the Gun Control Debate”). Gun ownership is an American right but should still be restricted from people who harm others and abuse their power.

Now, you may think gun control is not a “big deal,” but the truth is, as of 2009, the number of guns in the United States has reached about 310 million, exceeding the population. Gun regulations have become a much larger problem than ever, so it is important for you to understand that gun ownership is a complex problem that must be resolved with the utmost care (Ingraham).

Gun ownership lies upon the foundation for the United States, so it is important that it stays rooted in the American tradition. Guns are useful for protection against criminals, but at the same time, they must still be regulated to prevent criminals and the mentally ill from abusing their power. I am especially thankful you have taken the time to read this letter, and I trust that you will consider my position on gun ownership during your presidency.

Sincerely,

Noah

                                                                             Works Cited

"13. Absolute right to gun ownership." http://www.pavatar.us/, PAvatar, 2016,

            Accessed 2 Oct. 2016.

Berlow, Alan. "Gun Control That Actually Works." http://www.nytimes.com/, The New York

            Times Company, 31 May 2016. Accessed 3 Oct. 2016.

"GUNS & MENTAL HEALTH." http://csgv.org/, COALITION TO STOP GUN VIOLENCE,

            2016, Accessed 2 Oct. 2016.

"Gun Control." Research in Context. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2016. Research in Context.

            Web. 2 Oct. 2016.

"How Mass Shootings Spark the Gun Control Debate." Research in Context. Farmington Hills,

            MI: Gale, 2016. Research in Context. Web. 2 Oct. 2016.

Ingraham, Christopher. "There are now more guns than people in the United States."

            washingtonpost.com, The Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2015. Accessed 17 Oct. 2016.

Lund, Nelson, and Adam Winkler. "Common Interpretation The Second Amendment."

            http://constitutioncenter.org/, National Constitution Center. Accessed 7 Oct. 2016.

"Video shows woman shooting at burglars during Gwinnett home invasion."

            http://www.wsbtv.com/, Cox Media Group, 23 Sept. 2016, Accessed 2 Oct. 2016.