Dear Next President,

It is said that "After every mass shooting, there's a call for more gun control." People think that taking away guns will make it so nobody will be able to commit suicide or have an homicide attack. "there has been 350 "mass shootings" in the united states this year" but if every teacher had a gun in the classroom locked up, then no one in their right mind would want to walk into a school that is full of guns ready to be pointed at them before they pulled the trigger.

This is going to make it so that the person being shot at, can not fight back for his/her life, or in other words self defense. According to the CDC, "21,175 people committed suicide by firearm, while 11,208 people died in gun homicides." (Matthews). People go through hard times everyday, and we try our hardest to get them to realize how valuable their life actually is. However, getting them not to commit suicide sometimes can't be stopped and people blame it on the gun. "The gun is causing suicides, the gun is killing people." It's not the gun that is pulling the trigger, It's the people making the choice to pull the trigger. The people who murder, are where the problem is, they are the ones that need to be put away in prison. That being said, if what they did was bad enough, there should be bigger consequences for their actions.

It is said that " There's evidence that gun control can reduce suicide rates." (Matthews). This might work for a while, but people are just going to find more ways to kill themselves or others. There are numerous ways to die or to be killed. Taking away guns from the nation will only slow the rate of homicide killing or suicides for months. Soon people will be trying to find bigger and better ways to murder which will cause more deaths. If everybody had guns in their houses, cars, purses, and pockets nobody would want to kidnap, steal, rape, etc. because the rate of being shot back is high.

This is a quote from the Democratic party on Gun control “We recognize that the individual right to bear arms is an important part of the American tradition, and we will preserve Americans' Second Amendment right to own and use firearms. We believe that the right to own firearms is subject to reasonable regulation. We understand the terrible consequences of gun violence; it serves as a reminder that life is fragile, and our time here is limited and precious.” We aren't putting guns into the nation's hands to increase the violence but protection for the nation from those that aren't trusted with guns. It continues by stating, “We believe in an honest, open national conversation about firearms. We can focus on effective enforcement of existing laws, especially strengthening our background check system, and we can work together to enact commonsense improvements--like reinstating the assault weapons ban and closing the gun show loophole--so that guns do not fall into the hands of those irresponsible, law-breaking few.” Our constitution was written the way it was for a reason, as well as the Bill of Rights. If it hadn’t been for the citizens of The United States of America all owning guns, we would not have been able to defeat the British in the Revolutionary war. We would be in a very different place today if it had not been for guns in the homes of the majority of our ancestors here in America.

Gun control is been forced away from Americans because there is too much gun violence. America thinks that taking away guns will help the school shootings because nobody will have guns. What people tend to overlook is the serious danger that lies in forgetting to control the people who are trying to use them for harm. No matter what they use, when someone has determined in their mind to kill, they will use whatever means necessary to carry out their plan. It could be a knife, rock, stick, or even something as simple as a glass of water. The point is, as noted many times in this paper, it is not the guns that are causing the violence, it is the sick minded individuals who are aiming them at the innocent lives of others. Taking away our protection just makes their job easier, which doesn’t make a lot of sense now does it?

 I cannot imagine what my future will look like if my primary source of self defense is completely taken away. Will my home be safe? Will I have to hope nobody tries to harm me or my family because they know we are defenseless? I truly hope you will take into consideration the terrible effects more gun control would have on American lives, and the American dream. Good luck with your next four years, and congratulations on your political victory.

sincerely,

Terra C.