There is a new firearms retailer named Big Daddy Guns set to open this summer in Morgantown in a newly developed storefront complex, The Deck. While this would not be the first gun retailer in the city, it would be the first to open downtown, less than a mile from Morgantown High School and West Virginia University. This store placement is incredibly dangerous and irresponsible, and in light of the recent and reoccurring gun tragedies, we must oppose the opening of any firearms retailer so close to a high school and university campus. According to data collected from the CDC and published on EveryStat.org, in West Virginia, "an average year, 330 people die by guns. With a rate of 17.8 deaths per 100,000 people, West Virginia has the 13th-highest rate of gun deaths in the US." If this gun retailer opens in The Deck, we risk this number increasing. As shown in a study by David Blake Johnson and Joshua J. Robinson, "an increase in gun dealer density is significantly and positively associated with increased homicides in subsequent years." We owe it to our city, our students, our educators, our children, our business owners, and our neighbors to advocate for safety and responsibility. The close proximity of this retailer to multiple schools, businesses, and vulnerable populations only heightens the risk of gun-related violence.