Dear Future President,

My name is J, and I am an 8th grade student in Minnesota. The topic I’d like to bring to your attention today is gun control, or rather why gun control is not a solution to America’s murder problems. Guns and shootings are an ever-growing problem in our society today, but as much as some people would like to, banning guns(or making them much harder to obtain) Would not stop killers.

There are approximately 300,000,000 firearms in America, and according to everytownresearch.org, only about 30,000 people die to gun violence a year. By that math, %.0001 of guns in america are used to kill a person. That number is not worth restricting access to guns for the entirety of the nation. Guns are central to millions of households in the U.S. Taking that away would not only grossly violate the 2nd amendment, but reduce the quality of life of millions of individuals. I believe that preserving the 2nd amendment should be the priority of our future President because, simply stated, we need guns.

As I stated earlier, I believe that gun control is not a solution to America’s murder problems. Guns are a tool, and a tool people need. When a shooting occurs, people blame the guns, but seem to neglect that actual source of the problem: The child-killing abominations that are using these tools to commit atrocities. When a killer sets out to commit a crime, his goal is to kill. According to WMICentral.com, The tool used to kill is irrelevant. to put it simply, saying guns kill people is akin to saying spoons make people fat. It is not the object being used that is at fault, but the individual utilizing said object. (Millard, 1)

According to gunsUSA, knife killings occurred nearly 5 times as often as shootings In 2015, and yet you will not see people protesting for a knife ban. Also, guns have been used to stop crimes 300 times as often as they are used to commit them. People are blaming a tool for the actions of a murderer, and that is a monument to the foolishness of gun control as a whole. Though rather brusque, What I am about to say is true nonetheless: Any individual who calls for reform with a lack of verification on the more intricate details of said reform is sadly ignorant to the aspects of the change that individual strives to bring about. One must analyze all possible points of view when fighting for a political change, as they may not be aware of the repercussions of that change.Though the crimes regarding guns are detestable, it is the person behind the murder, not the murder tool.(Ebert, 1)

Those who are for gun control may counterclaim that reducing the number of guns in the U.S. would directly reduce the number of killings. While doing so may make guns harder to obtain for civilians, killers are criminals. Criminals who may be able to obtain a firearm through the black market with relative ease. Though strict gun laws may prevent the common criminal from getting his hands on a gun, but said laws will have an overall negative effect by taking away guns from citizens, whilst criminals can still find ways to procure them.

Thank You for your time, and I hope my letter may sway you towards keeping guns in the hands of the common American.

Sincerely, J.