Dear Future President,

As you I’m sure you are already aware, as a country, The United States faces a rather important issue; Gun Violence. 

According to the article ‘Guns in America’ by Esme E Deprez, The United States’ population is over 300 million and roughly 10% of our population is reportedly lost to gun related deaths yearly. This is clearly a serious problem. Now, there are definitely things we can do and improve to prevent or at the very least, lower the amount of deaths profusely.

A key contributor to this widespread issue could be the availability of guns. The U.S has by far the most civilian firearms than any other country. In “America’s gun problem, explained” by German Lopez; it is stated that other countries gun related deaths also happen to be significantly lower than that of the U.S at a staggering rate of “29.7 people per million.” More than twice the casualties of the “second highest nation; Switzerland (7.7 people per million).” This could be a significant correlation.

However, people in America have guns for a multitude of reasons. The second amendment of the Constitution has been in place since the 1800’s and was meant to ensure people the power to protect themselves from the government if it ever became oppressive or failed to meet the people’s needs and many people still support this. The NRA (National Rifle Association) has always been a strong supporter of the right to bear arms for all different reasons and a tough opposition group for gun restrictions. Citizens in the U.S’ reasons for possessing guns include; sport (indoor shooting, hunting, etc.), for protection, security, and some even collect guns out of fascination and hobby. However, it is this easy access and reliance on guns that poses a threat.

Although, in a perfect world, there would be no need for guns except for recreational use, it is unrealistic to believe that the solution to gun violence is to simply place a ban and prohibit all guns in the country. The resistance and refusal from the people and groups like the NRA would be inevitable. And while many oppose or resist restrictions and regulations on guns like background checks or waiting periods, they seem to be the middle ground between those who believe that everyone should have a concealed weapon and those who would prefer to ban any and all firearms.

Clearly, Future President, there is still a long way to go. Discussions to have and agreements to come to in order to reach a solution. And though we all have different feelings and opinions on guns, I think we can all agree that 30,000 deaths per year is something we should all be concerned about. And so, I hope you will use your power as president to shed more light on this matter and to do all you can to protect and secure our country and people as it is one of the greatest problems we face today.

-Sincerely, Fernanda R.