A Fourth Grader's Letter To Senator Pat Toomey About Universal Background Checks

The Core's founder Joe Zahm is proud to share this letter that his fourth-grade son Dylan wrote to Senator Pat Toomey (R) of Pennsylvania on the topic of universal background checks.

Senator Toomey joined the Senate in 2011 and serves on the Senate's Banking, Budget, and Finance committees. He is the co-author of the "The Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act," which would require states and the federal government to send all necessary records on criminals and the violently mentally ill to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The bill extends the existing background check system to gun shows and online sales.

More information on Sen. Toomey's record on Gun Safety can be found here:

https://www.toomey.senate.gov/?p=issue&id=61

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March 28, 2018

Dear Senator Toomey,

My name is Dylan Zahm. I am a fourth grade student at Westtown School, in West Chester, Pennsylvania. I'm writing to you to express my concern about gun control. I am writing to you about universal background checks for buying a gun.

Only 22 percent of the population in America buy their guns legally and the rest don't. They buy their guns privately which means that there is no mandatory background check. Because of this, someone with a mental illness can get their hands on a gun and use it the wrong way. An example of this is the recent shooting in Parkland, Florida.

All people should be required to have a background check to get a gun and they should have no mental illness on their record. It should be mandatory to have a background check for a police record, too.

I propose that a law to be passed that everyone needs to have a background check to buy a gun, whether they buy it from a licensed dealer or it is a private sale.

Thank you for reading my letter and considering my suggestions. I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,
Dylan Zahm (Grade 4 Westttown School)