Dear future president,

My name is Jeffrey Boggess. I live in Clarkston, Michigan. I would like to talk to you about gun control. Gun control in most forms in not necessary, and will not be effective in the United States. A lot of people believe that we need to get rid of specific types of guns to reduce crime, or that we have a problem of too many guns in America, and that is causing crime. This is not the case. Gun control should be very little in the US.

One reason people may be against guns is that they believe there is a gun violence epidemic. Marc Cooper argues “According to data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention analyzed bo the Pew Research Center, gun deaths have been in a general decline for more than 20 years, down some 31 percent since 1993. Between 1993 and 2000 the tally was down a full 50 percent, even as gun sales increased. Since 2000, the gun murder rate has more or less stabilized, showing only marginal variation up or down year to year.” The decrease in gun deaths shows that even though the amount of guns sold in America is skyrocketing, there is no problem of rising gun related murders. That is solid evidence that more guns in America does not mean more gun killings.

Another argument made gun-control supporters is that many countries in Europe that have stronger gun control, and have lower crime rates. While true, this does not necessarily mean that the same will happen in America. Gary Mauser argues “Is there a causal link between European gun control laws and their relatively low homicide rates? If so, how do we explain Switzerland’s low crime rates? While military firearms are prohibited in most European countries, Swiss citizens aren't merely allowed to own assault rifles, they are required to do so. Clearly, one must understand the culture of a society to assess the link between firearms legislation and criminal violence. Laws do not act in a vacuum.” Mauser is making the point that you cannot use the success of legislation in other countries to justify the use of the same legislation in your own without a deep understanding of that country's culture. There are such great cultural differences between all countries in this world that the successful laws of one country are very rarely going to have the same success in others. Mauser goes on to reference a book, The Samurai, the Mountie, and the Cowboy by David Kopel. Mauser connects the points in this book to America by saying “Kopel argues that firearms laws in Japan and Canada work because they fit their respective cultures, but similar but similar legislation wouldn’t work in America because of important cultural differences. His basic claim is that civilian ownership of firearms is integral to the American commitment to individual freedom, and to the lack of trust of government that is institutionalized in the United States.” Mauser is saying that the American culture is one that will not function properly without civilian ownership of weapons. As a country, we are founded on the ideas of individual freedom, and the ability to protect ourselves without the interference of the government/military.

In conclusion, as you can see, there is no way that gun control is necessary in America, or that it will have the same effect that it has had in other countries. I urge you not to take action, as many others will, but to understand that no action is needed or necessary.

Sincerely, Jeffrey Boggess