Dear Future President,

The United States of America has killed more of it's own people with our own guns than any terrorist organization could ever possibly dream of. ISIS can't even touch the number of deaths caused by the senseless firearm crimes in movie theaters, schools, churches, and even outside the comfort of their own home by the American public onto it's own people.

Gun control laws must be massively increased to prevent such tragedies. You cannot sit idly by and watch Americans shoot each other day after day after day and expect the problem to glue itself together overnight. Speeches are given after each and every shooting and "our thoughts and prayers" are always pinned at least once in the speech, but if our thoughts were truly were there, there would be laws getting passed to get something done and prevent horrible acts of hate from ever happening again. Thoughts are not good enough if they only remain thoughts. Action must be taken. Glue must be inserted. According to the Mass Shooting Tracker, in 2015 alone there were 372 mass shootings in this country alone, which killed over 450 people, wounded over 1,500, and changed more lives than you could imagine. The United States of America sprinted to first place in the number of annual mass shootings, with second place nowhere in sight. Surprisingly, this country also is the reigning title holder of most amount of guns per capita. To me, this is not just some sort of happy coincidence.

Let me make myself clear; I am in no way suggesting that every single citizen who owns a gun is irresponsible. There are more responsible gun owners than irresponsible ones, but when the irresponsible ones start displaying their abilities, It's time to make adjustments to the law. I am very well aware that just simply banning the sale and possession of guns would useless and unsuccessful, for anyone who is warped and insane enough to commit mass murder, would stop at nothing to follow through with their plan. However, quipping every American citizen with a gun of their own for defense, as some opponents desire, is a foolish idea to me, for this reason: Everybody living in this country who wants a gun already has one. If everyone had a gun, the only people that would really carry it with them everywhere they went would be the ones who had one before everybody was given one. 

There are people who agree with me who that are so anti-guns that they wouldn't even dare touch one, and there are some that wouldn't even know what to do with one when use is necessary. Staying calm and rational during a crisis situation is something that police officers train and struggle to do, and giving every man and woman a gun and expecting them to be able to handle himself during a shooting scene is flat out unrealistic.

I'll be honest. I don't have a solution of my own. I do not know all of the logistics that go into crafting a sensible solution to this problem, but there is an undeniable problem at hand, and increasing the number of the cause is an illogical panacea. I expect - and hope - that someone of your power can come up with a better solution. 

I am a personal defender of the United States Constitution and I believe that the rights held in it are important to for every citizen to have. That being said, the definition of amendment is "a minor change to a document." Amendments are made to be changed. Least we forget the 21st Amendment that countered the alcohol prohibition of the 18th Amendment in 1933. If an amendment is causing harm or being wrongfully abused, it is allowed to be changed. It is more unconstitutional to not change an abusive amendment than to leave it the way it is and pretend that nothing is wrong. 

NRA members will argue that they need a gun for their own protection in their own homes. However, according to to Violence Policy Center in 2012, there were 1.2 million violent crimes, including murder, robbery, aggravated assault, and rape. Of those 1.2 million, only 259 of them ended in justifiable self defense with a firearm, leaving all of the other violent crimes strictly for hate, and, in some cases, even suicide.

Something must be done about the gun situation. Whether you decide to increase or decrease the number of guns, Mr. or Mrs. President, I trust your judgement. I trust that you will make a rational decision that will hopefully be for the better of this great nation, but I hope all the points made in this letter stick in your head before you sign any gun-related bill. Thank you for your time, and congratulations on your victory.

Sincerely,

Eric K.