Dear President,

There once was a time when crime was low and the idea of criminals roaming the streets with assault rifles mindlessly gunning down civilians was an inconceivable idea. However, this is not our reality anymore. Due to restrictive gun legislation the crime rate has exploded in recent years. Preventing good,honest, law abiding citizens from being able to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their communities. Mr/Mrs. President this approach is ignorant and simply unacceptable. Criminals commit crimes, not honest Americans and our nation's gun legislation should reflect that, not the opposite of it.

Gun legislation is not effective. A study published in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy stated that nations with the highest gun rates have a crime rate three times lower that those nations with the lowest gun rates. Look at what is happening to other countries around the world. Countries in Europe, North Africa, and Australia have similar nations have tried similar restrictions on guns which turned out to negatively affect their individual societies in drastic ways. What makes you think that our fate will be any different when it comes to crime rates in our own nation Mr/Mrs.President.

The FBI gave an official release to the Washington Post in 2013 about the increase in Mass Active Shooter Shootings over the past seven years. These shootings increased by an average of 10 per year. An active shooter means that a criminal would continue to harm others on a massive scale until stopped by opposing shooter. Which in many cases is multiple police officers arriving to the scene after substantial damage has already been done. Making gun legislation more flexible will attract and encourage more honest Americans to carry guns for protection. The Washington post also made a prediction stating that if the number of gun carrying citizens rose by only 20 percent that would limit the number of active shootings per year to an average of 28 percent. That is potentially hundreds of lives being saved Mr/ Mrs. President don't you think the reduced legislation is worth that.

The claim the criminals will use their gun to harm others is also mostly false. A national study of crimes correlation to legal gun ownership was done over the last 15 years in the United States by the NRA. Less than 3 percent of criminals used there own legal gun to commit and shooting or crime , these means that about 97 percent of criminals obtain guns illegally. That proves that even with background checks and restrictions on gun purchase orders, strict legislation is not effective to stopping criminals.

I understand that as with all things there must be a compromise between multiple options, those who accept gun and those who don't . So here is what I propose; first the abolishment of gun free zones throughout the country for this is only making shootings more prominent at these locations and is causing honest citizens to have to decide between the law and their safety. Second, increased background checks that limit guns from getting into the hands of dangerous criminal or mentally unstable people. Third, education the public on a federal level about guns and gun safely showing that there are huge benefits to a “Open Carry Society” in which guns are considered normal and socially acceptable by the majority of the population.

We need to secure our nation from this rising problem. We must make it safe and peaceful again , like it was generations before ours. Gun legislation is a big part of how we can accomplish this goal. Passing federal legislation to make gun ownership more attainable by honest americans will help this. It will prevent the death of hundreds of american lives that are otherwise killed by criminals each year. So what will you do Mr/Mrs. President will you let continue to let crime rates rise and erode the foundation of the america we once knew , or will you work to pass new legislation in favor of the american people?

Sincerely,

Dawson Ray

Work Cited

@infowars. "Gun Legislation in Senate Expected to Crash and Burn." Infowars. Kurt Nimmo, June 20.2016. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.

America’s gun facts.ccp. "Guns in America | Facts and Statistics about Firearms in the USA." Guns in America | Facts and Statistics about Firearms in the USA. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2016

Washington Post. "History of Gun-control Legislation." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 5 Dec. 2016. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.