Most Americans feel extreme distress when thinking about who they will vote for come November 8th. While I am not one of those many Americans and am confident in the candidate I will vote for, my anger lies in an issue that I don't see as simply presidential. I am distressed that this country has so quickly forgotten amidst the heavily political cloud that has filled our atmosphere for the past few months that we have problems much bigger than an election. These problems however cannot be solved if we do not rest them on the candidates and vote for what we believe is right.

I am talking about guns. They were mentioned momentarily in the third presidential debate and I believe for a quick second in the first debate. But, it seems like a blip on America's radar underneath all the gossip, some true and some probably not, and scandal; it has our citizens wrapped up and distracted from the gravity of our upcoming decision. Even our candidates seem to have ignored the fact that members of the terrorist watch list have access to assault rifles. Let alone that ANYONE has access to assault rifles. Please, explain to me why any assault rifle owner (mostly hunters) owns one of these... is it not worth to give up your prized weapons if banning them could save even a few lives? There are other types of guns!! Yeah, the 2nd amendment still exists and I of course do not suggest to get rid of it because it definitely has its purposes, but when it was made, we definitely did not have the same type of technology and our guns were not nearly as threatening or powerful. I do not understood how this can be a partisan issue. This is an American issue regardless of your political stance.

We have forgotten the lives we mourned for one week. We have forgotten the victims that have incited protests, rallies, and city-wide marches. We have replaced their air time with stories that shouldn't exist about disgusting actions and words that never should have been done or said.

Because gun control is an issue I am severely concerned about, I took a couple minutes to write to my senators over the summer instead of just complaining about it... the responses were nothing short of concerning, maddening, and honestly just obnoxious. Here's what I said:

Mr. Isakson and Mr. Perdue

I am taking the time to write to you today because I am concerned, and I am afraid. I fear that those running our government would vote that those on the terrorist watch list are allowed to own guns, let alone assault rifles. I fear that ANY member of my community could own a military grade weapon, let alone someone who is likely unstable. I fear that my senators do not care about the people of their state as much as the guns in the homes of those people because they do not even require legitimate background checks let alone care about the results of any check that is done.

It is time for a change, and it is time that you help to renew a hope in government that has been so long lost. It is more important now than it has ever been in this country to make this change.

I will be voting in my first election this year, and I want to know that after that election I will no longer need to be afraid. The senators in this state have continuously shown their lack of regard for issues as serious as these, and I am sick and tired of just sitting by and watching as our citizens are killed and as our leaders do nothing.

Here is what I got exactly one month later from David Perdue:

It started off well! I was feeling optimistic at this response! Then I got to the mental illness debate... okay I'm thinking he could redeem himself... then we hit the real shining moment, lets keep guns out of the hands of criminals... good! yes! you can do it David!... the radical Islamic terrorists... great. Of course it exists, but is that the only source of gun violence? Not even close. I wrote to him during a week of great trauma in our country after the police induced deaths of black citizens such as Philando Castile, but no, it's just Islamic terrorism that is the problem. Then, in an even worse response, I heard from Johnny Isakson

This one goes straight to ISIS, not even just radical Islamic terrorism. You can read it yourself I'm not even gonna comment on this one except I will mention that I was not sent this response until almost 4 months later.

So, yeah. That's why I'm mad. How is anyone that ignorant to the fact that people are dying, or really not ignorant because I'm sure these are well-educated men, but just complacent. Complacency and lack of concern for people, to be blunt, outside their own race, social class, and gender is what makes me mad.

I ask of anyone that holds the same beliefs as these men to put your pride and guns to the side for one minute and jump into the shoes of someone that is not you, read some articles you would usually write off as "too liberal," and just see, for an infinitesimally small part of your day, what the people on the other side of the argument really believe, not that they want to take away your 2nd amendment rights, but that they want to make that right just a little more defined and safer for the greater good.