Dear Mr. President,

I am writing this letter to share with you my thoughts on gun control. I live in New York City, and I’ve read a NY Times article on gun control. This article reported highlights on how guns flow into New York from other states. This made me wonder if we need more gun control, so I read article from ProCon.org about the 2nd Amendment and reasons for and against more gun control. This article said the US has more gun deaths than other wealthy nations. A third article from LA Times pointed out the number of accidental shootings. This made me think that guns aren’t making us safe. I think that more guns that flow into New York, the more deaths we will have both intentional and accidental.

Even though New York State and City have strong gun control laws, guns are flowing into the city. This is because people are driving into New York State with guns bought in other states. In the NY Times “Report Highlights How Guns Flow Into States with Weaker Laws” are the author says, “Almost 90% of the handguns that recovered largely came from six states along Interstate 95.” This means, Mr. President, that we need stronger national gun laws. I also found out that getting Senator Kristen Gillibrand of NY will reintroduce legislation in the US Senate to outlaw gun trafficking. I support this because NY State laws can’t stop the flow of guns from states with weak laws.

Another problem with gun control is that guns are kept in homes and cars. In the article “Should More Gun Control Laws Be Enacted,” the author points out that 1.4 million guns were stolen from US homes. Even if they were bought legally they can easily be obtained by criminals. Another fact quoted from the article was “American children under the age of 15 were nine times more likely to die of a gun accident than children in other advanced wealthy countries… About 200 Americans go to emergency rooms every day with gunshot wounds.” Mr. President, as a 12-year-old I find this outrageous because these deaths be prevented .

The third article I read made me frustrated. This article from the LA Times “Guns are designed to kill. So why do we express shock when they do?”, helped me understand how so many kids could be going to the ER and struggling to survive. So many people are being killed accidentally. Small children, like the 2-year-old in Sacramento who shot herself when she found her parent’s gun, or Lana Meisner who accidentally shot herself by “jostling a rifle stored in a closet. ” Guns are having unintended consequences. Mr. President, we need to understand guns better.

In closing, Mr. President, guns are not making us safer. Innocent people are dying unintentionally. Kids are dying at a rate nine times greater than developed nations. And finally NY State's strong gun control laws don’t stop the flow of guns because of gun traffickers from states with weaker gun control laws. Mr. President we need to pass Senator Gillibrand’s bill for national gun control

Thank you,

Colin Monninger