Dear Future President of the United States,

Imagine a world where people are able to carry a concealed handgun in public without citizens thinking that it is improper. Now, imagine a place where citizens are safe in almost every circumstance that has to deal with crime. Gun control laws prohibit the residents of America from being as well protected as they could be. Your policies should allow people to carry handguns because they would be able to protect themselves, police response times are creeping higher every year, and, gun free zones only disarm the innocent.

In the current time period, mass shootings and shootings have become a major problem. If you were to abolish all handgun laws, people would be able to protect themselves from lawbreakers and unstable citizens. When you take away a person’s source of protection, there is a very high chance that they don’t carry a knife or know a form of martial arts. “In 1976, D.C. implemented a law that banned citizens from owning guns, as only police officers were allowed to carry firearms. According to prosecutor Jeffrey Shapiro, the results were not good. Annual homicides rose from 188 in 1976 to 364 in 1988, and then increased even further to 454 in 1993.” (Bandler) This shows that handguns are a vital source of protection for a handful of people.

Also during the current time period, crime is rising slowly. “Crime in the United States, 2015 reveals a 3.9 percent increase in the estimated number of violent crimes and a 2.6 percent decrease in the estimated number of property crimes last year when compared to 2014 data.”(Latest Crime Statistics Released) Crime rising is resulting in a higher police response time. “As of 2013, the reported national average for police response time was 11 minutes.” (Pendleton, Kara) 11 minutes is enough time to bake a batch of cookies, cook dinner, take a shower, or clean your room. 11 minutes is a fair amount of time when you really think about it. Criminals could do a sufficient amount of damage during an 11 minute time period. Armed citizens would be able to stop any type of crime without the police having to show up.

Lastly, gun free zones only disarm the innocent. By this, I mean that respectful citizens follow the laws and do not bring loaded guns into these areas. When have lawbreakers/criminals ever been known to follow the law? “On October 9, the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) released a revised report showing that 92% of mass public shootings between January 2009 and July 2014 took place in gun-free zones.” (Breitbart news) This just shows that people are unable to defend themselves against the wrong-minded individuals that reside in the United States. Abolishing gun free zones would decrease the amount of mass shootings because citizens would be able to carry a gun almost wherever they go. They would be able to protect themselves.

In conclusion, I believe that abolishing gun control laws is vital for controlling the amount of crime that the United States experiences. Allowing guns to legally be carried into public places would make people feel more secure because they would be able to protect themselves and others. I hope I have presented you with three good reasons to change your policies on gun control.

Works cited

Bandler, Aaron. "7 Facts On Gun Crime That Show Gun Control Doesn't Work." Daily Wire. N.p., 28 July 2016. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.

Latest Crime Statistics Released." FBI. FBI, 26 Sep. 2016. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.

Pendleton, Kara. "Here's How Long on Average It Takes for Police to Respond to a 911 Call." Independent Journal Review. N.p., 07 Mar. 2016. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.

Breitbart News. "Report: 92 Percent of Mass Shootings Since 2009 Occurred in Gun-Free Zones - Breitbart." Breitbart News. N.p., 11 Oct. 2014. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.