Dear next President of the United States,

America is a gun cultured nation. According to USA Today, about 55 million Americans own firearms, amounting to about 265 million guns. Last year, there were 13,286 deaths attributed to firearms, as reported by the BBC. Today, it has become commonplace for people to fear guns, and think that they are overly violent objects. However, comparing the numbers it’s clear to see that guns aren’t the issue, it's the people who own them.

In Hillary Clinton’s democratic presidential campaign of 2016, it has become clear that she does not want guns, or “weapons of war” as she would put it, on the streets. On one side of the argument, we have people who are against the ownership of guns, arguing that they are the cause of many thousands of deaths, accidental or not. However, we wouldn’t say that it’s the car’s fault that someone died in a car accident, when in fact it was the driver’s fault for not being responsible. Of the millions of responsible gun owners in the United States, many of which would argue that guns are tools that can be misused irresponsibly as weapons. That is why we need proper education of these very common objects. Millions of Americans nationwide have never taken a firearm safety course, and some may never have heard of one. It needs to be easier for people to get education about firearms, whether there be classes at high schools or in assemblies, our children and adults need to have a better understanding of guns; how they work, the laws, and what to do to stay safe.

On the other side of this argument is the republican nominee, Donald Trump, who stands firmly in his support for the second amendment. His belief is that the right to carry should be upheld in all 50 states and that the government has no say in what types of firearms are legal or illegal, including magazine/clip restrictions. On background checks, Trump states that “we need to fix the system we have and make it work as intended. What we don’t need to do is expand a broken system.” as quoted from Trump’s campaign website. According to On The Issues, he deems that all people of the terrorist watch list, or enemies of the state may not purchase firearms. He also claims that mass shootings are attributed to mental illness, and therefore it should be looked at more closely in background checks.

Overall, I agree with Trump’s views on gun control. I strongly believe in the right to bear arms, and that we need to be more strict on background checks as well as using the individual’s mental health as a big considering factor when purchasing firearms. I also firmly believe that we need a stronger education system on guns, seeing as a very large portion of our society doesn’t have an adequate understanding of guns, including various officials themselves imposing gun control laws. The United States is a very large country with a very large public presence of guns. We need to make sure that gun owners are law abiding and responsible to ensure the safety of our nation’s citizens.

http://www.ontheissues.org/Donald_Trump.htm

https://www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/constitution-and-second-amendment

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/09/22/study-guns-owners-violence/90858752/

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34996604