Dear Mr. / Mrs. Future President,

My name is Hibak Mahamed, and I am a STEM Prep High freshmen. I hope you are aware of the amount of violence in the United States, specifically, with guns. A gun is a weapon used for self defense, and for protection. Unfortunately, most of the time gun usage is directed towards harming others and many lives end up lost. The amount of gun violence is only increasing to the point where people now worry for their safety and that of their family’s. The increase in the amount of gun violence is because people with wrong intentions and stereotypes are getting their hands on these.

I remember being in 4th grade around the time the Trayvon Martin my fourth grade teacher was very heartbroken by this. Why was he shot? George Zimmerman, neighborhood volunteer, saw him as a threat and without further investigation shot the bullet that took away Trayvon's life. Zimmerman must have not gone through a lot of training and had no right to act on his assumptions. With stricter gun laws, increases what it takes to be able to posses a gun. Guns should not be given to just people who are meant to provide safety. They should be given to officials who respect laws and will uphold them especially the “innocent until proven guilty” aspect.

Another example of why gun violence is an important topic to look into is the Sandy Hook school shooting. The victims of this were teachers and children who went to school to learn. A place where their safety should never have been in danger. Adam Lanza, the shooter, had mental health issues and he possessed a gun. It is hard to imagine why someone who has a mental illness such as Lanza would ever be given a gun. The person who gave him the gun should have done a thorough background check because now not only was Lanza endangered, but also the children and teacher who were shot. Now look at the 20 victims of this event. They have families too, and they had their entire lives ahead of them. Unfortunately, their lives were cut short by a deadly weapon that was supposed to be for strengthening safety. Overall, I believe that gun violence is an important issue currently facing the United States. Imagine someone in your life being taken out all because they were shot. The future of the country will only get worse if something is not done about gun violence.

Sincerely,

Hibak Mahamed