Gun Control

Dear next president, My name is Nate and I live in the suburbs of Cleveland. I wanted to bring to your attention that the Second Amendment is being abused and taken advantage of today in America. The CDC released a statement saying that every day, 91 people die from a firearm. There are innocent people dying each day because people who shouldn’t get their hand on a firearm do, and there is definitely something that we can do about it. Since I was young, I have been hearing stories about gun violence in schools and other public places. I can recall one particular time where there was a shooting in a school only hours away from mine. I was young, and it scared me. I kept thinking that this would happen to the school I go to. I also know someone who lives less than a mile away from the spot where there was a shooting. It seems that whenever my family and I turn on the television, there is a tragic story about gun violence on the news. I have seen these things too often. I look at what happens to other people and realize that the same thing could happen to me and my family. I understand that I am not the only one worried about this. How would you feel if you got a call saying that there had been a shooting at the school where your children attended? Unfortunately, too many families have to face this terrifying scenario. The Second Amendment was and still is an important part of the constitution. Many people believe that they need guns to defend themselves. However, guns are rarely used for defense, being used only 0.12 percent of times in all life threatening violence situations. People would not lose as many rights if the Amendment was just enforced, rather than being taken away. More background checks would only affect criminals in a negative way. They would in fact help everyone else. America is often labeled as the best country in the world. Every day, America’s government officials try to make the United States the best country it can be. However, our country is accountable for 82 percent of all gun homicide deaths in the world. That is 25 times than the other major countries in the world. I’m not saying we have to be like China and ban guns for good. How can we deal with the safety of our country against outside enemies when the inside of our country isn’t safe? Background checks can prevent bad people from getting their hands on guns, and should be maximized. There are loopholes in the background check system. At places like gun shows, they are not done. About 40 percent of guns are bought at gun shows. So, this is why I ask that you maximize the amount of background checks done and limit the amount of military grade weapons that get in the hands of civilians. I also think that a law should be made that states that all guns that are bought have to be bought with a background checks. It will be long before the danger caused by guns will be resolved here in America, but we need to start somewhere, and I believe that is where you come in. Sincerely, Nate Salata