Dear Next President,

The American culture can be summed up by just three things: Sunday football, a juicy cheeseburger, and gun shootings. Every day when ordinary, innocent people leave their house, they have the same chance of being involved in a gun incident as you and I. The government does background checks before someone purchases a gun, but it’s still putting firearms into the hands of dangerous people. Victims can’t plan for incidents like these, but you as President can help control gun laws and who has them in their possession.

I believe that American citizens have too much access to guns and abuse them. Ehab Zahriyeh states that “December 2nd, the 336th day of the year, marked the 353rd mass shooting of the year for 2015.” That year there was at least one mass shooting a week except for April 8th-April 15th. This number only marks mass shootings which means over 4 deaths occur. Imagine how many other deaths must have occurred from accidental gun incidents or homicide. Some people will argue that guns are necessary as a method of self-defense. I do acknowledge this point, but if we limited gun accessibility, where guns were targeted for uses such as hunting and law enforcement, there wouldn’t be much need for them.

Overall I think it becomes clear that stricter gun laws are the most impactful solution to this problem. As of today, criminals who go to purchase guns can get through many technicalities in our current gun laws. These loopholes need to be filled. People with bad records can normally find a way to cover it up to purchase another gun for an illegal act. “63% of Americans blame mental health and another 23% blame gun laws,” for the rising number of gun accidents according to The Washington Post. I personally disagree with this statement and so do the facts. People think providing mental help to offenders would be much more effective than changing the gun laws. An article in The New York Times states, “According to one epidemiological estimate, entirely eliminating the effects of mental illness would reduce violence by only 4 percent.” This helps us understand that mental health is not the biggest issue. It is normally due to terrorism, or sometimes it is something as simple as someone who is not qualified misuses a gun.

Nowadays in America, there are several ways to purchase guns whether it’s online, from Walmart, or even a private sale. Criminal Watch Dog writes, “Background checks are only required if you purchase a gun through a Federal Firearm Licensee which includes retailers and some individuals.” There are still many other ways for people to get their hands on guns such as purchasing them online. I believe that any place that sells guns, including the internet, should have some form of a background check for the customers. According to The Trace, “... ‘40 percent’ statistic, or the percentage of people who obtain a firearm without going through a background check.” Some Americans will try to disagree that tougher gun laws will make it much harder for people who use them for sports, hunting, and self-defense to purchase. I agree with people who are worried about hunting and sports, but most of the time you already have a license or are registered. It is only a few extra steps that could save many lives.

NBC stated that “Every day in the U.S., 289 people are shot.” This number can easily drop if you, Future President, make small changes to our current gun laws. It would result in fewer deaths, less fear, and a less dangerous environment for our country and citizens. Less gun violence would occur and only people worthy of taking care of a gun can have one. Stephen King once said, “How many have to die before we will give up these dangerous toys?”

Elaina

Citations

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/16/opinion/dont-blame-mental-illness-for-gun-violence.html?_r=0

The Editorial Board. “Don’t Blame Mental Illness for Gun Violence.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 Dec. 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/16/opinion/dont-blame-mental-illness-for-gun-violence.html?_r=0.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/10/26/gun-control-americans-overwhelmingly-blame-mental-health-failures-for-mass-shootings/

Peyton M. Craighill and Scott Clement. “What Americans Blame Most for Mass Shootings (Hint: It’s Not Gun Laws).” Washington Post, The Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/10/26/gun-control-americans-overwhelmingly-blame-mental-health-failures-for-mass-shootings/.

http://america.aljazeera.com/multimedia/2015/12/gun-violence-by-the-numbers-2015-mass-shootings.html

Zahriyeh, Ehab. “Mass Shootings by the Numbers: More than 350 in 2015.” Mass Shootings by the Numbers: 2015 Mass Shootings, Aljazeera America, 4 Dec. 2015, http://america.aljazeera.com/multimedia/2015/12/gun-violence-by-the-numbers-2015-mass-shootings.html.

http://www.clearpictureonline.com/SO-Gun%20Control.html

Www.soyouwanna.com. “Debate Pro and Con of Gun Control Regulations.”Debate Pro and Con of Gun Control Regulations, ClearPictureOnline.com, 6 July 2008, http://www.clearpictureonline.com/so-gun%20control.html.

https://www.thetrace.org/2015/10/private-sale-loophole-background-check-harvard-research/

@Kamamasters. “Just How Many People Get Guns Without a Background Check? Fast-Tracked Research Is Set to Provide an Answer.” The Trace Just How Many People Get Guns Without a Background Check FastTracked Research Is Set to Provide an Answer Comments, The Trace, 5 Apr. 2016, https://www.thetrace.org/2015/10/private-sale-loophole-background-check-harvard-research/.

https://www.criminalwatchdog.com/faq/background-checks-for-guns

CriminalWatchDog. “What You Need to Know about Background Checks for Guns.” CriminalWatchDog, FAQs, https://www.criminalwatchdog.com/faq/background-checks-for-guns.

http://gun-control.procon.org/

By contrast the United States has the 26th highest suicide rate (12.3 suicides per 100,000 people in 2011) and the highest gun ownership rate (88.8 guns per 100 people). [44] [45] Jim Barrett, author for TheTruthAboutGuns.com, stated. “Gun Control - ProCon.org.” ProConorg Headlines, ProCon, 28 June 2016, http://gun-control.procon.org/.

http://www.snopes.com/gun-murders-per-100000-residents/

@Kimlacapria. “Gun Murders per 100,000 Residents.” Snopes, Snopes, 2 Nov. 2015, http://www.snopes.com/gun-murders-per-100000-residents/.