Regulate Ammunition in addition to Guns
If someone buys a gun without ammunition, it might as well be a baseball bat. In addition to the background checks, there should also be a tax on bullets and materials used to make bullets.
Dear Next President,
Many people, including me, believe gun violence is a problem in America. The Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit group whose goal is to provide accurate information regarding to gun violence to the public, says that so far there have been upwards of 47,000 incidents related to guns. More than 12,000 people have died and over 25,000 have been injured. These numbers cannot be ignored because more incidents happen every day. I believe the way to stop this is through ammunition control.
If someone buys a gun without ammunition, it might as well be a baseball bat. If used as a weapon, it would only be a blunt one. It should be required to give a background check before purchasing ammunition and items to make ammunition such as primer, gunpowder and shells. This would be much safer than just having regulations with guns. According to The Marshall Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization, 45 states and the federal government currently have no licensing or regulations for those who sell bullets. So if someone buys a gun illegally they can get ammunition very easily. It would also make it easier to catch these people because you only need to buy a one gun but many bullets. If the criminal runs out, they need to buy more which would increase the chances of them getting caught.
In addition to the background checks, there should also be a tax on bullets and materials used to make bullets. First off, this would be a good revenue stream for the government considering how many people buy guns and ammunition legally. Second, it would also limit the amount of ammunition people have in their homes so say someone steals a gun from someone's home, there also would not be so much ammunition to also steal. This would have a significant impact because up to 600,000 guns are stolen every year in the U.S. That's one every minute. Imagine how much stolen ammunition that could also be. Usually one magazine is enough for someone to protect themselves in their home, so they won't buy so much.
Some people will try to fight against strict gun control to stop gun violence but I believe we have been going around the issue all wrong. The ammunition should be controlled and taxed to create a safer environment for people to live in without the fear of if they will just get shot on the street.
Sincerely,
Jack N.
