Dear Future President:

My name is Emma Veenstra, I’m twelve years old and I’m in 7th grade. I’m from Oskaloosa, Iowa. I go to Oskaloosa Christian School.

I think that gun control is a problem because people are getting killed. People are so selfish that they only think about their life instead of others lives and their families’ lives. They should only use guns for defense, but even then you shouldn’t kill a man. It would be terrible to live in a neighborhood that has had a shooting. That is why I think gun control is a problem.

There are cops losing their lives because of people who have guns that shouldn’t have guns because they get drunk or something else that they could make very bad choices. Then their guns are where they can easily get to. Then go back out and start shooting which could end some people’s lives right then. That should not be happening to the people’s lives or their family’s lives. What I don’t get is why people are carrying signs that say ‘Black Lives Matter,’ but all lives matter not just black lives or white lives.

When immigrants come some of them have guns and they don’t always use them for good. I truly think that you should care cause people in the United States are mourning because of guns. Guns are a huge problem right now. All most all states have had a shooting take place in them. It is sad that some people just get to drunk then do dumb things or they just think “Oh they just kill or put a black person in jail, so we have the same right as they do to kill someone.” They are literally showing that they have no respect for what the police do. Police are trying their best to keep the United States safe, but then people come and start killing again.

You should make some guns laws, but not a lot. They should really only use guns for hunting not for killing. Guns aren't the only way we could stay safe. If you really believe in Jesus you would refer to what he has said in his teachings. The Schema is a good one, “Here O, Israel, the Lord is your God the Lord alone love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. Love your neighbour as yourself.”

In Matthew 7:12 it states “In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essenes of the Law and the prophets.” I think this verses suits this situation perfectly, because people are killing others so they are kinda saying, “I don’t care you are treating me terribly, so you should look at your own actions instead of mine.”

I think that when you are hunting you should watch for orange and then there will be no problem there. The place that really needs work is the terrorist they just kill someone one then it is all over the news and all they do to this problem is put them in jail. This not like you just robbed a bank you just killed someone's loved one. People need to use gun as weapons, but not weapons that you could use to kill someone. I don’t think that the guns are a problem, I think it is the people who have them.

Thank You,

Emma Veenstra