Gun Control

By: CD

Dear Mr/Mrs. President,

Gun violence has been a recurring issue in the past few years in the United States. It has drawn the attention of many legislators who think that gun control needs to be more advanced. There are also some people who believe in the 2nd amendment, (which is the right to keep and bear arms). Gun violence has occurred in places where you think you would be safe. For example, the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, which took place in an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. The shooting killed 20 kids and 6 adults, which brought worldwide attention to the issue of gun violence. Another example is the Westroads Mall shooting. A 19 year old gunman took eight people’s life including his own. This also drew a lot of attention to gun violence and whether the laws were strict enough. People should be able to send their children to school knowing they would be safe, or even go to the mall without having to worry about any gun violence happening at all. People have asked the question, “Are our gun laws strict enough?” We need to help make the people feel safe again.

Background checks have played a huge role in purchasing a gun. You can no longer purchase a gun without getting a background check. “A background check is an investigation checking for criminal records, commercial records of an individual or an organization.” (www.ontheissues.org) Background checks do work, however there are private and illegal transactions that take place. What are we doing about these private transactions? Are the background checks really working? These are all questions people are wondering, especially victims and their families.

The 2nd Amendment states that citizens have the right to keep and bear arms. I am completely in favor of this law, however private illegal transactions make this law debatable. People have to abide by the law. Other people think no one should have the right to own a gun for the safety of American lives, unless you have a specific job that requires one. Being a police officer requires a gun and so does being in the army. These jobs require having the right to bear arms.

Andrew Goddard, a father of a victim who was shot in the Virginia Tech shooting describes the feeling of sitting next to his son in the hospital bed knowing there was nothing he could do. He says “Sitting there looking at him, knowing he has open wounds that the surgery could not help, and just knowing all the pain he’s in. He didn’t do anything wrong he was in a safe place, a classroom.” (Andrew Goddard). A classroom, a mall, a school, these are all places where you should feel safe instead of being in fear of gun violence.

The 2nd Amendment says you have the right to own a gun and most people do. But people wonder how the gun violence is still going on? We could increase the gun laws and background checks but would it work? The current president himself said he wanted to “increase mental health treatments, and increase background checks” (www.ontheissue.org) . We need to look out for your country before you lose more people in it.