The second amendment of the United States of America Constitution states that a well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. This law had been passed by the Congress and ratified by the States ever since the year 1788. But, over the years this prevalent law has been questioned numerous times. Considering all the issues the U.S. has encountered over the years with firearms, I can see why. I personally believe that firearm laws should be made stricter and that there should be the same firearm license process in every state ensuring more safety as a democracy.

If you watch the local or national news regularly, I can almost guarantee you that you will see a crime involving firearms at least every other day. It is sad that this has become a conventional event in our country. I believe the poor firearm license process is to blame. When an ominous person in an outrage gets his hands on a firearm through the simple license process, who knows what can happen. There are over 283 million firearms currently in the U.S., and about 30% of them are eventually used in crimes. Faulty records enable terrorists, illegal aliens and criminals to purchase guns. Over a two and a half-year period, nearly 10,000 convicted felons and other illegal buyers in 46 states obtained guns. In a single year, 3,012 children and teens were killed by gunfire in the United States. That is one child every three hours, and that number multiplies itself by 5 every single year. It is devastating that U.S. children are most at risk of dying of gunfire than any other country in the world. In one year, firearms killed no children in Japan, 19 in Great Britain, 57 in Germany, 109 in France, 153 in Canada, and 5,285 in the United States. And the numbers aren’t going to stop growing anytime soon. I believe these facts are hard to endure and that we are setting a terrible reputation among our society.

Don’t get me wrong, I still believe we should possess the right to bear arms; I just think firearm laws and license process should be made stricter so they don’t end up in the wrong hands. The usual Iicense process involves a check of your age, checking visible previous felonies, and the check to see if you’re an American citizen. A 10 day waiting period follows. But laws vary in different states, most of them being not as strict as listed. Many people throughout the country including myself and my grandpa (Retired police officer) agree. My grandpa possesses several isolated firearms as a responsible handler. But he even agrees the process is too simple. Americans for Gun Safety produced a 2003 report that reveals 20 of the nation’s 22 national gun laws are not enforced. According to U.S. Department of Justice data, only 2% of federal gun crimes are actually prosecuted. If you compare our license process with Germany’s, you will see that their process is stricter and more detailed. There is a 5 year waiting period, and you can only purchase hunting rifles. With these more conservative laws, Germany has way fewer gun related deaths compared to the U.S., having over 37 times as much deaths. Also, I bet we have all heard of the Tucson shooting in January. All the mourning, death, and anger destroyed the hearts of many people. The accused killer, Jared Loughner, apparently obtained his high caliber, extended magazine, semi-automatic handgun, at a local sporting goods store. When I heard word of this, I was dumbfounded. I bet the fact that you can purchase a lethal weapon and ammo at a sporting goods store even though he clearly had a mental-illness shocked many of us. Investigators later discovered that this man has had previous troubles with the law, including several drug possession charges and severe mental problems, which they just had discovered after the murders. This should be a powerful wake-up call to our country. It is vital to put into consideration that we should vote to change our laws. I think there should be a national license process system that is stricter so that guns won’t fall into the wrong hands.

Over the years, many accidental shootings have occurred in our country and are growing at a frightening rate. People such as young children and teenagers are getting their hands on firearms from people such as their parents, who are not keeping them secluded. There are well over 1,000 accidental shooting deaths in our country per year, and that number is also rapidly increasing. What really proved a point to me is the fact that an American child is 10 times more likely to die of an accidental shooting than 25 other countries combined. I felt terrible when I saw these statistics.

A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. With our great country having firearm death statistics towering most countries, considering all my points made, I firmly believe Congress should open their eyes and make changes fast. Do you really want to represent the country where guns kill the most children? There needs to be a change in the gun license processe. There needs to be a highly strict, national license program. If we keep our faulty gun laws the same, firearm deaths will only continue to grow faster and faster with the struggling economy. Think of all the lives we could save every year. We need to change gun legislation in our nation.