Dear Future President,

She tried not to cry. She felt the warm tears trickle off her cheeks. She had promised herself that she wouldn’t, but she couldn’t hold the tears back anymore. Now she was going to see him differently, lying there, lifeless. She was at his funeral, her father’s. Now. Future [resident, this story is made up, but for many, it has become just another chapter in their morbid lives. Because of the lack of gun control people have lost loved ones: their friends, family; parents, and I can assure you, future President, no one deserves to live without a parent because of someone else's mistakes Maybe they were not mistakes, but rather cruel intentions. Regardless, something has to be done about the lack of gun control in our community, in our nation, which I need not remind you, is in your hands.

I believe that having more gun-control laws and more severe consequences for violating these laws will reduce the amount of gun-related deaths.There were 53,379 gun incidents in 2016, and there were 13,472 gun-related deaths. Mr(s). President, people, are dying, not by something uncontrollable, but something that humans created and now, it is firing back on us. Innocent people are dying Procon.org states,”Guns were the leading cause of death by homicide (66.6% of all homicides) and by suicide (52.2% of all suicides). Firearms were the 12th leading cause of all deaths, representing 1.3% of total deaths topping liver disease, hypertension, and Parkinson’s disease, as well as deaths from fires, drowning, and machinery accidents”. David Frum, Daily Beast and CNN contributor, stated, "American children under age 15 were nine times more likely to die of a gun accident than children in other advanced wealthy countries”. Mr(s). President, one of they ways the gun related deaths are so high on the charts, are from suicides. Most people focus only on the gun-related homicides, but suicides are just as important. Most suicides use guns because they are least likely to survive. A study in 2006 in Israel showed that when they prohibited the military from taking home their weapons on the weekends, the suicide rate went down by 40%.

In addition to reducing gun-related deaths, there should be more gun control is because civilians that own guns usually get them stolen, and they are used by criminals in against the owner and other innocent citizens. “Between 2005 and 2010, 1.4 million guns were stolen from US homes during property crimes (including burglary and car theft), a yearly average of 232,400. Ian Ayres, JD, PhD, and John J. Donohue, JD, PhD, Professors of Law at Yale Law School and Stanford Law School respectively, state, "with guns being a product that can be easily carried away and quickly sold at a relatively high fraction of the initial cost, the presence of more guns can actually serve as a stimulus to burglary and theft” (Gun-control Procon.org). If the gun owner had a license and a permit to be in possession of the gun, would the same thing go for the person who steals the gun? What purpose would a gun be stolen for other than to kill? On June 9, 2016, the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 7-4 that "the right of the general public to carry a concealed firearm in public is not, and never has been, protected by the Second Amendment,"(ProCon.org). Mr(s). President, this means that there must be a permit and a license to upholding a gun in California. The Second Amendment supports the right of bearing arms in the appropriate, and the just procedure is done to acquire a gun. This comes right back to the fact that too many guns are being stolen, and violating the Second Amendment. Felons who do this should have severely terrible consequences.

Finally, gun-control laws should be increased, is the circumstance that civilians with a gun are not likely to stop a crime, and are prone to making the situation more deadly. ProCon.org affirms,”None of the 62 mass shootings between 1982 and 2012 was stopped by an armed civilian”. In very few situation where armed civilians resolve the incident, well regulated and The New York Times estimates that there is one shooting a day in the U.S. that leaves four or more people wounded or dead.The Second Amendment of the United States Constituted-regulated military, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." This doesn’t mean that the opinions of the civil humans should outlast those of the law. Long lasting prohibitions should be taken, and some should include mentally ill, criminals bearing arms in inapplicable places such at school, government, or law- implementing places, as social gatherings full of innocent people. In order to save people, we can put serial numbers on the bullets, and those bullets can be traced back to the person who bought them. Also, only allowing people that have a driver's license, birth certificate or something to prove that you are a legal citizen. Purchase bullets , let alone a gun. Also, a gun purchase cannot be made without first the checking of a criminal background.

Mr(s). President, I believe what we can save people's lives. No one deserves to live without someone they love because of the lack of gun control that is facing our nation…your nation. With more gun control, there will be less gun related deaths, civilians who own guns, usually have then stolen, and finally, civilians who have encountered a crime scene hardly even stop them, even with the use of a gun. In most cases, the casualties and injuries number in increased. Please, Mr(s). President if something is not done about the lack of gun-control, there won’t be a nation left for you to oversee.

Sincerely,

Gianna