Dear future president:

Gun control is a major problem in the United States that is being overthought about. It is not the guns that kill people it is the people that handle them. Guns can be used as protection, but also can be used to hurt someone. It matters who is handling it.

One thing we can do to make sure we do not have strict gun policies, but still have a low homicidal rate, is to teach kids in schools how a gun can be used in a harmful way. “Guns do not kill people, people kill people,” (Gun control, Second Edition pp. 60). If we teach kids at a young age and continue to teach them about gun safety, then people we grow up and know the dangers of a gun. This means that we will have to increase school funding. 

Another way to decrease a high homicidal rate is to make a tougher enforcement on existing laws and not add more gun control laws that make the law of the land more confusing. “New York City had one of the oldest handgun-licensing in the United States: The Sullivan Act. Yet, the city had one of the highest violent crime rates between the 1960’s-1990’s. In the Mid-1990’s the police did a massive enforcement push that focused on ‘quality of life’ crimes, or crimes that involve graffiti, loitering, or any other form of crimes that are not as severe compared to murder or rape. This enforcement on smaller crimes made smaller homicidal rates in the city,” (Gun Control, Second Edition pp. 61). If we have better enforcement, we can break down on criminals. We will need more funding then for the police.

Finally, “self-defense is good because it can stop a would be offender and lower the crimes that are successful,” (Gun Control, Second Edition pp. 67). Gun control would make preventable crimes unpreventable, and the crime would be carried out (Gun Control, Second Edition pp.67). However, more gun ownership makes criminals scared that they can get possible killed while committing a crime they do (Gun Control, Second Edition pp.67-68).

In conclusion we should not have stricter gun laws in the U.S. It will not make the homicidal rates any better, and could possibly make it even worse. What we need to do as a country is to teach the young about guns, have increased crime enforcement, and have more concealed weapons. Opponents say that stricter gun control in other countries like the U.K. have worked and made lower homicidal rates. However, countries like Switzerland, that have barely any gun control laws, have the same or lower homicidal rates (Gun Control, Second Edition pp. 660). As a country, these are the actions we should take to lower the homicidal rate.

Cordially,

Aidan S