Dear Future President,

In the past five years, we have been watching more and more mass shootings plague the nation and have done nothing about it. Recently, I was in Washington D.C. at a rally for childhood cancer awareness, and before hundreds walked to the White House for a vigil, we listened to people from the pediatric cancer community speak. But while I stood in the plaza it struck me, anyone could come off the street with a legally bought and licensed rifle and shoot the survivors, fighters, and supporters dead. There are absolutely no laws that could stop this scenario from occurring, and that NEEDS to change!

So far this year, there have been over 10,466 gun related deaths in the U.S. in 2016 and there are sure to be more on they. Many pro-gun activists say that people need guns to defend themselves, yet there have only been 1,268 defensive uses of firearms in 2016. For every time a gun is used to defend one person, a gun is used to needlessly kill ten others. If this is a valid argument, then the amount of defensive uses should be a multiple of deaths caused by their precious life savers, not a fraction. This is why you need to actually lead and affect meaningful gun control at a national level.

After each shooting, the country remembers that we need more gun control and talks about it for a week, then promptly forgets about the entire issue. At least make it harder to obtain a gun! Currently, just about anyone over 18 with a valid ID and a clean bill of mental health can acquire a gun in some places, in less than a day. Therefore, anyone can come up with a horrible idea and execute it the same day! As long as people have easy ways to acquire any sort of firearm, there will be shootings, and as long as people like you neglect this issue until it is convenient, this pattern will never be broken. This is not an issue that can wait!

The United States needs a leader who can and will protect their people even if it is not the easiest thing to do! Please use your power to make everyone safer and show us that gun control and the safety of your citizens actually matters to you, and not just after a shooting. You must follow through with the promises you make on the campaign trail. I hope that one day I won’t have to fear that I have become a target of gun violence when I step into a public group