mo Washington

Gun control

I think we should have background checks before people can buy guns

Dear Mr. or Ms. Future President,

Do you really care about this country? Do you want your country to end in chaos? In this country we have more innocent killings than any other country. We have too many shootings in the country than ever.I feel like these shooting are getting out of our hands. We need more background checks on people buying guns to prevent these mass shootings.

There were a lot of massive shootings these days. According BBC, “There were 372 mass shootings in the US in 2015 that killed 475 people and wounding 1,870”(BBC). This means that a lot of innocent people are dying for no reason in our home country. Background checks on gun buyers can help identify the persons who might be at risk of committing a shooting. We need to have more background check in every state to prevent deaths.

Right now, if you buy a gun and it isn’t from a store, you probably don’t have to do a background check. This is not how it works in my state though. Chris Ingalls from KING 5 news says, “Prosecutors charged Mark A. Mercado with "unlawful transfer of a firearm" – a Phoenix Arms HP22 handgun. In charging documents obtained by KING 5 and public broadcasting's Northwest News Network on Monday, prosecutors said Mercado sold his handgun on November 9, 2015. It was used to murder 17-year-old John Skyler Johnson two days later.” He was arrested because we have a law that we have to do background checks even for private sales, but he didn’t and someone was killed. This should be the law for every state. Because it prevents buyers from getting around background checks by not getting guns at stores.

Some people don’t think we need more background checks. “Laws that restrict gun ownership do nothing to deter someone who’s decided to fire on fellow citizens”(Goins). But making people go through a background check will hopefully alert authorities to someone who wants to buy a gun and is dangerous.

In conclusion background checks are a good way to avoid mass shootings. I hope that as a president you will do something about this issue.

Sincerely, Mohamed Abdikadir