Dear Future President,

I am a student at Northview High school in Grand Rapids MI, my name is Payne L., I am 14 years old. I am wondering when we are going to get better gun laws? I am for gun control and gun laws.      

I think we need guns but we also need to have less guns for people to get their hands on to. The good thing about guns is that when people have guns in their houses, they can protect their family. This is why we need better gun control in the U.S.A because the gun laws are going to get worse if we don't get better gun laws and gun control.

     Too many people sell guns illegally. They do it for the money, because they want to be rich and that is another reasons why people that are underage can get there hands on guns to shoot up schools. It is very troubling that there are people that think it is ok to go into a school and kill innocent people, including kids. Since 2013, there have been at least 202 school shootings in America — an average of nearly one a week. That is why I am doing this paper trying to say that we need to make better guns laws so then it is harder for people to get guns.

     Guns can kill people, we should be more alert so then not as many people will die. If gun laws are not strict enough to prevent any random person from owning a gun, then we are at risk. I would feel a lot safer if we did not have guns in the world. A report by the Urban Institute showed that in the single school district of Washington, DC, there were at least 336 gunshots in the vicinity of schools over a single school year. This is a prime example of why it is so important that we get better guns control laws. We need to protect every student and make them feel safe in their schools.

      School shootings affect children, teachers, and other school staff members. The effects are numerous and can be long-term. Witnessing a school shooting can have emotional, psychological, and physical effects. These effects include nightmares, resisting the return to school, headaches, stomach problems, and sleeping problems. If that happened at my school I don't really know how I would handle it. School can be tough enough but I can’t image if someone came in and started shooting people.

       What can be done to make schools safe for kids? You really need to control how many people in the U.S.A have guns. I know that we need guns for the police, military, hunting and also for people to protect their families, however we need to get guns out of the hands of people that should not have them. In 2015 alone there have been 52 shootings, 21 have been at colleges and universities, 15 at high schools, three at middle schools, 10 at elementary schools, two at preschools, and one on a school bus. I trust that you future President will make the right decision and make gun control laws one of your top priorities.

Thank you for you time and considering my suggestion.

Payne L.

https://everytownresearch.org/school-shootings/, Article Title EverytownResearch.org, Website Title The long, shameful list of school shootings in America

https://sites.psu.edu/aspsy/2014/03/24/effects-of-school-shootings/, Article Title Applied Social Psychology ASP RSS, Website Title PSYCH 424 blog

https://www.rt.com/usa/318169-school-shootings-statistics-year/, Article Title RT International, Website Title 52 school shootings so far this year leave 30 dead, 53 injured