Mrs. President, Hillary Clinton

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington DC WA 20500

Dear Mrs. President:

There are some issues where there is no effective solution, which is an inevitable issue for any large democracy. A prominent example of this is the issue of gun control. This issue is important to me because many of my friends and family own guns, and I believe it is a very important issue to the United States. I believe there should be stricter restrictions on who can acquire guns and what types of guns they are allowed.

My opinion on gun control has changed. Previously, I was strictly for less restrictions on guns because I believed it was the American right to own guns and the government shouldn't control that, until I realized one crucial moral factor. Regardless of the constitution, it's extremely selfish to fight for the right to get guns easily when there were "372 mass shootings" (Guns in the US, 1) in the US just last year according to Bloomberg. In my opinion now, you shouldn't sacrifice the safety of Americans, especially children, so you can get a gun quicker. It's insane. The thought that someone could have that though process is simply horrifying. This is how my stance on gun control has changed.

I believe there should be more restrictions on what guns people can acquire and who can acquire them. There should be restrictions preventing any criminal from acquiring a gun. This seems like common sense because "67.8% of the 404,638 state prisoners in 30 states were arrested within 3 years of release". (Durose et. al, 1) Based on those statistics, no criminal should be allowed a gun. I also believe the process to own a gun should take much more time and money in order to dissuade people from owning guns. That way, guns aren't banned and people still have the right to bear arms, but it will reduce the amount of people willing to pay for the cost. This means less guns and therefore less accidental shootings. Another restriction should be on the types of guns allowed. Many guns on the market for civilians today are simply impractical and unnecessary, most of them high caliber semi automatic rifles. According to USA Today, "in 2012 there were 3.3 million AR-15s in the United States." (Asheville 1) These rifles are only good for one thing; killing people. "A military style rifle was used in the Sandy Hook shooting" (Asheville 1), as well as others. This is why there should be restrictions on who can buy guns and what guns they can own.

These changes need to be implemented in a variety of ways. The first way is pass legislation to prevent criminals convicted of violent crime from getting guns. Legislation also need to be passed to raise the federal tax on guns by a significant amount. This will not only help control guns, but it will help fund other government programs. There should also be legislation banning military style rifles from being sold in the US. A common counter argument for my beliefs are that the second amendment allows americans to bear arms. The constitution doesn't determine how Americans can get those arms, or what types of regulations are set on them. This is how these changes need to be implemented.

I believe Americans should be limited in what weapons they can acquire and who can acquire them. Criminals who have committed violent crimes before should not be able to get guns, the sale of military style rifles should be prohibited, and overall taxes and processes to get guns should be larger and more difficult. I am nearly 100% republican. I'm pro-life, definitely against amnesty for illegal immigrants, pro states rights, and against higher taxes. Gun control is where I draw the line. Even in the case of taxes, I even go against some of my own beliefs in order to solve this problem. That is how serious this is. I know many Americans feel the same way, and the points I've presented here are the reasons why you should crack down on gun control.

Sincerely,

S. Roemig

Works Cited

Citizen-Times, John Boyle Asheville (N.C.). "Military-style AR-15 Rifles: 'The Market Is Saturated'" USA Today. Gannett, 03 Dec. 2014. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

Durose, Matthew R., Alexia D. Cooper, and Howard N. Snyder. Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 30 States in 2005: Patterns from 2005 to 2010. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.

News, BBC. "Guns in the US: The Statistics behind the Violence." BBC News. N.p., 5 Jan. 2016. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.