Dear Future president,

Gun violence is a huge topic that needs to be dealt with around the world. There has been over 136 mass shootings in the US in 2016 and that number continues to grow. Something needs to happen with all these shootings and it needs to happen fast or they will continue to happen. Lots of anti guns people believe that the smartest solution would be to outlaw guns in the US. I do not think that is a practical alternative to this problem, however I think that we should not blame the guns, we should offer more care to the mentally ill, and put more research into what leads these people to commit these violent acts.

 The problem we are facing is that everybody always blames guns for crimes that the people are committing . In the article “Can we Do Anything to Prevent Massacres?” Kevin Fagan and Demian Bulwa says “Gun-rights advocates view such talk as an exploitation of tragedy. They say killings are caused by those wielding the guns - not the guns - and that, if anything, people need the right to carry guns to protect themselves from mass murderers.” We have to stop pointing the fingers at the guns and start pointing them at the people who are using guns for bad things.

For example, my dad and I are responsible gun owners, and our guns allow us to go hunting and to spend quality time with each other. If we were to outlaw guns in the US, then me and my dad wouldn't be able to do the things that we love to do. So you you always have to remember that it is not the gun that pulls the trigger it is the person behind the gun who pulls the trigger, and that guns are not always used for bad things.

 We need to figure out what is triggering these people to do these awful mass shootings. In the article “Can We Do Anything To Prevent Massacres?” Mitchell Rycus, a University of Michigan professor emeritus who studies violence and terrorism says, “America needs to look harder into the mental instability that often marks a mass killer, and to figure out how to address it.” I couldn't agree more with Mitchell, we need to figure out how to help these people, and figure out why these people are doing these horrible things. Bill Woodward, a criminologist with the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence in Colorado, says “bloodbaths will continue until mental dysfunction is more closely studied.”

Instead of trying to take everyone's guns away we can put more money into studying these people and research into what is causing these people to tick, and then maybe we can stop them from doing mass shootings. Like Bill Woodward said until we start to look into mental dysfunction then these shootings will continue to happen. We as country need to focus more on the people and less on the guns.

Sincerely, Tino Motola

Sources: @KevinChron. "Can We Do Anything to Prevent Massacres?" SFGate. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.