Dear Next President,

Why have more than 1,000,000 people died by uncontrolled gun violence? Too many innocent people with families have lost their lives while doing a daily task in their neighborhood. The amount of heart-wrenching stories that have been piling up on news reports due to gun related incidents, is out of control. In 2015 there were 372 mass shootings and 64 school shootings in the United States. A change needs to be made, regarding the process of purchasing a gun. Owning a gun is a serious responsibility and many who buy one do not fulfill their job to use it appropriately. Irresponsible holders of guns have lead to many deaths, more than they were even planning to be responsible for.

While I am not an expert in this subject, I see too many news stories and images pile up about the tragedies caused by reckless gun violence. I have read stories of innocent people being killed because they were the “wrong target”. Wrong target or not, someone was going to end a life that day and a gun vender put the weapon into the wrong hands. The process should not be this easy to get around, this process should be one of the longest and thorough of them all, considering that the product can end many lives. All places that sell guns should have the same process, and the thorough identification and background check of the buyer. The fact that at gun shows most states do not require a background check shocks me. I see no difference in a gun store and a gun show except that there is a larger amount of guns at the show. Gun shows seem to be the easiest way to get your hand on a gun today. By law, gun shows do not require any background check, which makes it easy for any upcoming murder to be possible.The process of buying a gun should be the most difficult out of all, because buying a gun can end any life in seconds.

The No-Fly list is something I have recently stumbled upon, and have gained interest in. It was an intelligent idea to come up with a No-Fly list to keep our country safe, however, the people who are on this list are still allowed to purchase a gun. Americans have come to the attention of this error and are outraged, in fact I have read a few letters of fellow teenagers who are as discouraged about this as I am. A No-Fly list contains a number of names who are a threat to innocent people and are too suspicious and dangerous to be on a plane. If someone is dangerous enough that they are not allowed on a plane because they may be a threat to the passengers and pilots, then they should not have the right to handle a gun. It is clear that too many guns have fallen into the wrong hands.

The US has been spending a great deal of time protecting us from terrorism which turns the focus away from all of the gun violence. According to BBC, “The US spends more than a trillion dollars per year defending itself against terrorism, which kills a tiny fraction of the number of people killed by an ordinary gun crime”. This is a clear example that the United States is spending most of the time worrying about terrorism and not worrying enough about the gun violence that is killing thousands of United States citizens.Yes, terrorism is an extremely important topic, but this topic does not have the importance to take away focus of a reoccurring issue that is killing more people.

This issue has spread to too many places which makes it seem as if only a small amount of people care about it and are not striving to make it go away. Now that you’re president It is now your job to use your valued opinion and power to make a difference in America. Your main duty for your job is to keep the people of your country safe, and to do so is to put an end to these careless murders. To stop the number of lost lives growing, there needs to be an entirely different system that will make sure that the people who handle something that can take a life, are trustworthy.

Sincerely,

Sarah