Dear Future President:

When it comes to discussing controversial issues in the United States, it is inarguable that the topic of gun control is one of those issues. With tragic shootings occurring all around the country every day, more and more people have become concerned with the method in which citizens may legally purchase firearms. I write to you today in hopes of convincing you to not enact gun control laws that violate rights of the American individual.

The right to own a gun comes inherently with the Constitution. The Second Amendment clearly states: “ right to bear arms.“ Gun ownership has been in a tradition in America since it was ‘born,’ and has stayed with America throughout all of these years. In the District of Columbia et al. v. Heller (2008), the court ruled that the Second Amendment was an individual right and that people should be able to keep firearms for traditional purposes, such as self defense. People in America should be able to own and keep means of defending themselves, as long as they don’t use the firearms to infringe upon the rights of others.

Secondly, the media also manipulates and amplifies yearly nationwide deaths to make shootings seem more menacing than they actually are. According to an article by The Trace, over 2 million individuals in the United States passed away in 2015; only a minuscule portion of those deaths (0.65% of the deaths that year) were firearms related deaths, excluding suicide. There were nearly five times more stabbings in the United States than ‘assault rifle’ deaths, but no one has been proposing knife control laws, nor have the media been talking about knife deaths as much as firearms related deaths. Additionally, the term ‘assault rifle’ is so vague that people are scared by listening to it without truly understanding what it actually means. There have been recorded cases when someone went to a mall, openly carrying a firearm, which is completely legal in many states, and ignorant people panicked and started screaming that he was going to shoot up the mall. In many cases, people who are the most ignorant cause the most trouble. An assault rifle, by google, is defined to be “a rapid-fire, magazine-fed automatic rifle designed for infantry use.” In other words, no lawfully purchased firearm can be dubbed ‘an assault rifle’ because you can’t buy automatic-fire guns.

Another fact to be noted is that gun control laws won’t actually prevent those who intend to cause harm from obtaining firearms. Those people will obtain firearms, whether legally or illegally. If they can’t purchase a so called ‘assault rifle’ legally, whether from a licensed firearms dealer or separate parts online, they will find means to do so illegally, such as the black market. Prohibiting lawful and peaceful citizens of the United States will only cause for the nation to be less safe as a whole as people would have practically no way to defend themselves, should the necessity arise.

People have also argued that many high school shootings and accidents occur when children have access to firearms, and hence firearms should be restricted. However, they’re omitting the fact that this is the parents’ fault for two separate reasons. Firstly, it’s their fault for leaving the firearm in an unlocked location. Locations that the parents deem as safe may easily be discovered by unwitting children. Secondly, the parents are at fault for not properly educating their children on how to act in the presence of firearms. Kids have shot each other because they thought a loaded firearm was just a toy. However, gun control advocates are trying to punish all gun owners, whether they abide by safety rules or not. It simply doesn’t make sense; those at fault should be punished, not the entire community.

By now, it should be clear that although firearms to have a dangerous potential and presence in society, they should be treated with utmost care and parents should educate their children on how to properly handle them. Firearms should not be banned, and the Second Amendment is clear evidence as to why lawful citizens of the United States should be able to keep their guns, and more importantly, their rights. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter, and I hope you consider what I have written.

Sincerely,

Eric Yang