303 Ashe Avenue

Raleigh, NC 27606

10/24/2016

Dear Next President,

          What is one of the most common causes of death in the United States? According to USA LifeExpectancy, homicide is the fifteenth leading cause of death in America. Statistics from Brady Campaign, an organization promoting firearm safety, show gun violence is the second leading cause of death of teens in America. All of these different sources are showing that gun violence is a serious topic that needs to be focused on. The US Justice Department Council on Foreign Relations shows that about 13,286 people were killed in the US by guns in 2015. This number is unacceptable and attention should be brought to this issue in Congress. What can be done to reduce this number and help secure the country?

          We feel as though background checks should be provided for anyone wanting to buy a gun, so the number of responsible gun owners will greatly outweigh the irresponsible. The Brady Campaign reports that “Nine out of 10 Americans agree that we should have universal background checks.” It is evident that more should be done in addition to previously successful efforts to increase security for gun ownership. “Since the Brady Law was initially passed, about 2 million attempts to purchase firearms have been blocked due to a background check. About half of these blocked attempts were by felons.” The country is making progress, but we also need to be able to implement these methods in other areas of gun ownership. “Unfortunately, our current background check system only applies to about 60% of gun sales, leaving 40% (online sales, purchases at gun shows, etc.) without a background check.” The online transactions should be another major focus for firearm security.

          According to an infographic provided by CNN, about 45.6% of shooter incidents happen in business environments, 24.4% at schools, 10% on government property, 9.4% in open spaces, 4.4% in a private residence, 3.8% in a house of worship, and 2.5% in a healthcare facility. This information shows that it is most likely for an act of crime involving a firearm would occur in a largely populated area and one of significance. Our proposal for decreasing these rates is that authoritative figures in these environments should be required to be well-versed in an efficient method of self-defense in case of an emergency. We hope appropriate measures can be taken based on this proposition.

          With this research, we have reached the conclusion that our ideas about background checks and security in popularly dangerous areas would be the most effective and appropriate ways to prevent the problem of gun violence in our country. We request that you take into consideration our proposal about firearm security to create a more stable and responsible United States. How will you take action to improve gun usage in our country, Madame President?

Sincerely,

Kendall Lloyd and Alaina Stewart-D’Agostino

Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy