15 November 2016

Dear Future President:

When I was ten years old, the man who watched over my neighbors and me every morning as we waited for the bus shot and killed himself. Confusion and shock consumed me. I failed to understand the complexity of the matter and had no idea how his 5-year-old daughter would as well. I can’t help but think that if this mentally ill man had been legally prohibited from acquiring a gun, a tragedy like this would have been prevented. The fact of the matter is that gun control laws are too loose regarding the process of purchasing and using firearms in America.

Claims and arguments for loose gun ownership laws in the nation are illogical and unsafe. Nearly half of the gun owners in America claim that having a gun inside their home ensures self-protection and safety. While this claim may grant citizens peace of mind, guns inside of homes lead to increasingly great risks to fire-arm related death. These deaths may be caused by accidental shootings, criminal assault, or suicide. Supporters of free fire-arm carry argue their Second Amendment rights. The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right to bear arms. Rationally, the Second Amendment is not a free-for-all or unlimited right to own guns. Laws concerning areas of carry, by whom they are carried, and how they are obtained place limitations on the claim for free gun ownership in America. Although individuals work to create a case for the advocacy of loose and free fire-arm laws, they appear impractical and irrational due to the severity of the subject. No freedom is worth the danger and welfare of communities in America.

The United States has the highest rate of death among the 25 highest income countries in the world caused by guns. Reported by Opposing Viewpoints in Context, there are 400,000 gun related crimes committed every single year in America. It is imperative for you as the future president to take a stand in the advocacy of stricter gun control laws. The most effective way to begin this process is focusing on the purchasing and obtaining of fire-arms in the US. Stricter requirements for this process would inevitably prevent criminals and the mentally-ill from becoming in possession of a gun. Although acts have worked to increase background checks in markets for fire-arm purchases, these provisions do not include personal and private sellers, which make up 40% of the total purchases, according to ProCon.org. It is proven that the laxest gun control laws of the world are that of America. Are we going to sit and let our neighbors expose themselves to such danger without moving a finger to prevent it? After all, states with high percentages of gun ownership and weak gun laws hold higher rates of gun death. The verdict is clear. It is your job to wake up America as the future president! Are you okay with the fact that 30,000 deaths a year are caused by guns in our country? I am not! Gun control is not given enough attention in this country, and it is up to you to open the public’s eyes to the dangers of these weapons.

Gun control laws are too loose in America regarding the process of purchasing and using firearms. The US needs leadership and empowerment by you to enforce and make aware the complexity of gun control. In per capita gun deaths among industrial nations, America is the leader. This fact is not only bad for our reputation as a nation but more importantly our welfare as a nation. A shooting in my hometown devastated our community, broke apart our hope, and shattered any security we felt in our own city. America will fall apart without your help. Future president, will you reform and enforce or sit back to let our country burn?

Sincerely,

Taylor Myers

Bibliography

"Gun Control." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2016. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?disableHighlighting=true&displayGroupName=Reference&currPage=&scanId=&query=&source=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&mode=view&catId=GALE%7C00000000LVWY&u=lafa43079&limiter=&display-query=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE%7CPC3010999212&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType=&commentary=. Accessed 11 Nov. 2016.

"Should More Gun Control Laws Be Enacted?" ProCon.org, 28 June 2016, gun-control.procon.org/. Accessed 10 Nov. 2016.

"Stronger Gun Control Laws Will Save Lives." Guns and Crime, edited by Christine Watkins, Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?disableHighlighting=false&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&currPage=&scanId=&query=&source=&prodId=OVIC&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&mode=view&catId=&u=lafa43079&limiter=&display-query=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010015248&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType=&commentary=. Accessed 11 Nov. 2016.