Dear Future President,

Comments have been made by many people stating that much stricter gun control laws should take effect. They believe that gun control will reduce violence in our communities, and it will solve many social issues. However, I believe that these statements are untrue. The right to bear arms was given to us by our ancestors and, as stated in our Constitution, should not be infringed. There are many reasons that we should keep our gun rights, and all people of our country should know these reasons.

When looking at the statistics, it is quite obvious that guns are not the reason for violence in our country. In the past 20 years, gun sales have increased significantly, but homicides with guns have decreased 39 percent over that time. Also, other crimes with guns have decreased by 69 percent. These are astonishing numbers, and they prove that the problem is not the gun, but the gun owner.

It is my belief that not everyone should be punished for the behavior of a few sick people. People who use guns to hurt or kill people have issues, but that is a small minority of people. Firearms are used mostly for self-defense, and that is something that should simply not be taken away. They give many citizens a sense of security, because everyone wants to feel safe. Americans should always feel safe, and we should never have our rights infringed upon.

Another reason people have for owning guns is to hunt for game. Hunting serves as a tradition for many people, and some hunt to provide for their families. Hunting does nothing to harm anyone, and people should not have their firearms taken away because of the minority of people that do use guns to hurt people. In fact, hunting can help our environment by keeping a controlled population of many animals. If this is stopped by taking guns away, there could be major environmental problems to go along with it.

If guns are taken away, then crime may go up as a result. Take prohibition as an example. When it went into effect, the demand for alcohol increased significantly. There was more gang activity, and many people were killed in the business of buying and selling alcohol. We should use prohibition as a learning experience, keeping our 2nd Amendment rights intact.

The 2nd Amendment was created by our forefathers for good reason. It helps all citizens to feel safe, helps hunters control animal populations, and it has kept crime down in the recent past, believe it or not. The argument that guns are the cause of most of the violence and homicides in our country is invalid; in fact guns haves had positive effects on our nation. Also, we as Americans should be able to feel safe at all times, and taking away our guns will damage our sense of security severely. So I strongly urge you, as president of our great nation, to defend our Constitution, and to keep our citizens safe and free.

Sincerely,

Nathan Gerald