Dear Future President,

As a 13 year old boy from rural Pennsylvania, I spend a great deal of my free time in the great outdoors. Thus, when I was at a very young, my father (a hard-working upper middle class man) bought his first gun (a .22 Bolt-Action rifle). Immediately, as he walked into the door with his new firearm, he sat me down, and talked to me. He told me that this is not some Nerf-gun for my brother and I to play with in the basement. He told me that I was never to touch it when he wasn’t around and I had to be responsible at all times as I knew that the gun resided in his closet. At this time, I was seven. He promised me at the age of 10 I could shoot this .22. I was so thrilled at this remark, but knew I had a long three years ahead of me of going to the range with him, but only being able to watch him. All I could get my hands on at this time was BB guns and slingshots. But it got me ready for the real test. A piece of machinery that could kill. But as remarked by many wise people, “With great power comes great responsibility.” I knew this quote and remembered it the first time I pulled the trigger and will never forget it. The reason I am telling you this is because I want to say that most American citizens know this and understand it, which leads me to believe that there is no need to ban guns, but there are steps that could be taken to ensure America is safer.

When one goes to a private gun shop, there are no background checks. This is an obvious problem. A study done by the NRA in 2014 states that most private sellers, sell guns for $25-$60 less than the retail price. A study done by Quaro.com states that the average criminal has extremely low funding. Would raising the price of all firearms limit the amount of shootings in the United States? I believe so. Once again, it’s simple; raise prices of weapons in gun shops so criminals cannot afford them and shootings decrease. Although there are many terrible stories of gun violence and lenient gun sellers, there are some good steps taken by gun retailers today. Walmart employees are asked to check gun permits for their customers. This is one step in the right direction to a safer and better world, when it comes to guns.

Furthermore, is there a need to sell semi-automatic guns? People's use of them is very limited; they cannot be used to hunt any wildlife. Also, you can only use them for display, target shooting, and self-defense. Also, a study done by NBC News found that the most used gun in shootings is a semi-automatic M14 assault rifle. When firing this weapon, the shooter must repeatedly pull the trigger at whatever speed they wish. This can be an extremely deadly weapon. Getting rid of semi-automatic assault rifles would leave the following guns on the market: rifles, handguns, and shotguns. These guns aren’t nearly as dangerous, and are not the top choice for an individual planning a shooting. The semi-automatic guns are easy to fire, and could take down a large amount of people. If shop owners were to get rid of these guns, the amount of shootings and deaths would fall sharply. These are two ways that gun violence would decrease in our beloved country.

To conclude, it is obvious that in our country, gun violence is an issue. There are several theories to stop it, some being preposterous, but I think my ideas are clear and feasible. 1. Increase the prices of guns. If this were to be done, criminals would be less likely to be able to purchase guns. 2. Ban all semi-automatic guns. They are the main weapon used in shootings and banning them as well can significantly decrease the high numbers in gun violence. These things must be put into action and stopped once and for all. Once again, thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Ethan W., Pennsylvania