Hoover School Ltr - GunsGirl Scout Troop 146
Hoover School
Dubuque, Iowa 52001
May 30, 2001
RECEIVED
OI AUG-7 8:23
City Cie k's Off,ce
Dubuque, IA
Dear City Couneit Memhors,
We are writing you this letter because we wanted to talk to you about the control over guns. If
alcohol has anageJimit, then frans should too. A person shouldn't get a gun until they reach the age limit
of 21. Guns should only be sold to people with no violent record or current criminal records.
We think the Columbine incident is really horrible, andthe little 8-year-old boy who shot the little
girl in Iowa is really sad too. Ifa child is shot at a school or any other public place and the gun used by
the offender was one of their parent's guns, then the parents should have to take the bulk of the
respo~sibil/ty for the punishment and the child should be arrested. If you have a gun and you have little
kids/teenagers, then you should keep your gun(s) in a case with a lock and you should keep the key with
you at all times. You should not leave the kid(s) home by themselves without adult supervision when you
are gone if you have a gun(s) in the house. Ifa child gets a hold ora parent's gun(s), the parent needs to
be charged for child enc~angerment and the gun(s) should be taken away and the parent banned from ever
owning another ftrearr~ ,
A community service would be to have a community lock available for people who want to store
their gun(s) in a safe place. That way they can keep them safe from their children, but can still check
them out when they want to go hunting. Another help would be to have community drives where police
officers could come and pick up guns that owners no longer want and melt them down.
Ifa parent/child threatens someone with a gun they should have one ortwo hundred hours of
comm,..~ty sendee and 12 montl~ ~ith aprobafion officer. Ifa parent/child shoots anyone,~tepending on
the circumstances, they should have the maximum punishment by law--no questions asked.
You should put the good kids in the newspaper and leave the bad kids out because all you are
doing is giving the bad kids attention so they will most likely do it again. Focus the good kids on the
front page of newspapers, not high school shootings. Kids need good role models, not had. No child
should have a life that includes guns, drugs, or alcohol.
Thank you for the opportunity to let our views and opinions be heard. We are the future
generation and feel very strong about gun control issues and also for the safety ofour community.
Yours truly,
Elizabeth Dani Jo