Should Legislators Pass a Ban on All Assault Weapons? School shootings, theater shootings, bank robberies. What is the common factor in all of these scenarios? Criminals? Death? Tragedy? Yes, but so are assault weapons. Mass homicides cannot happen without a powerful gun. However, can the public reasonably attribute mass murders to assault weapons? And if these weapons are to blame, then does that mean that we should ban all assault weapons? Bans on weapons in the United States are neither unheard of, nor difficult to implement, but banning assault weapons is the wrong way to solve the issue of mass homicides. Legislators should not pass a ban on assault weapons because there is no need for one. Sometimes the public can make entirely incorrect inferences about certain issues. This misinformation can sometimes become prevalent when talking about assault weapons and mass homicides. Often assault weapons are painted as horrendously deadly guns that can kill hundreds of people in minutes with little to no thought from the shooter. However, what is often misunderstood is that the type of weapons most often mistaken for assault weapons are machine guns. Machine guns are fully automatic guns that typically require two people to operate and can fire multiple rounds under a single prolonged depression of the trigger (“Fully Automatic Firearms.” 1). Machine guns are not assault weapons, and are far more highly regulated by the government than semi-automatic firearms. Such
However such bans are ineffective at preventing mass shootings as “Adam Lanza had plenty of time to reload his guns, as did the shooters at Texas Tech in 2007 and Columbine in 1999” (Domenech n.p.) and “assault weapons…applied to guns used or carried by criminals in at most 2 percent of all gun crimes” (Domenech n.p.). Because of the ineffectiveness of gun control, background checks, and assault weapon bans, the best way to prevent mass shootings is to ban gun use altogether.
What are these assault weapons and what makes them so dangerous? This is important to clear up because there are so many different types of weapons with different mechanisms and abilities for taking many lives quickly and brutally. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) assault weapons are types of semiautomatic and automatic weapons. Semiautomatic firearms shoot one round per single pull of the trigger. After the trigger is pulled and the bullet fired, the ammunition cartridge automatically reloads for the next shot (Study on Sporting 16). The
With the popular culture providing positive images of guns, the United States has a gun prevalence that is very rare in the modern world. While many people appreciate the “gun culture”, guns are heavily involved in violence in the United States. According to U.S. Department of Justice, since 1960, more than 750,000 Americans have died under firearms, including homicides, suicides, and unintentional injuries. The figure 1 provides a comprehensive survey of U.S. violent crimes for the period from 1993 to 2011.This figure illustrates that from 1993 to 2011, about 60% to 70% of homicides were associated with a firearm. Over the same period, between 6% and 9% of all nonfatal violence, with about 20% to 30% of robberies and 22% to 32% of aggravated assaults involving a firearm.
Assault weapons are the newest and the most popular type of firearm. When most people hear the term ‘assault weapon’, they think of an unnecessary weapon and their connections to mass shootings. That type of thinking is necessary when it comes to these types of weapons, and too many those disagree with people who think this way. There arguments are, “This is America,” and “It’s guaranteed in the second amendment,” but the issue is assault weapons have no place in American society outside the military and police use. The Second Amendment states, “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 sentence written by our forefathers says nothing about which weapons are allowed in this country. So it is up to our government to decide which guns are legal and which guns are illegal. From a logical and educated perspective all assault weapons should be banned from public distribution and possession, and be restricted to use by our police and armed forces. This can easily be proven by why the 1994 gun ban was not successful, assault weapon capabilities in the hands of citizens, and solutions to assault weapon control.
The common argument that the anti gun movement push is that high caliber weapons mainly so called ¨assault rifles¨ cause mass destruction and that they kill thousands of people a year. They also claim that there is no use for the weapons and they wish to impose a nationwide ban on ¨assault rifles¨. Now to the average American the term ¨assault rifle¨ may sound intimidating but anti gun politicians use this term to scare Americans into thinking that a regular semi automatic rifle is an fully automatic machine which it is not. The most common rifle that the movement goes after is the ar-15 which is a semi automatic rifle. Now according to FBI crime statistics rifles accounted for 285 of murders in 2013,
Over the years the topic of gun control has turned out to be very polemic causing large debates, especially in the United States. A vast majority of people who are against gun control insist that is their right to own a gun mainly for self defense, while others who are for it, point out that it is not necessary to have access to certain guns like the military-style weapons therefore a ban should take place.
The Second Amendment gives average citizens the right to keep and bear arms. This has been an occurring issue for a while now but the recent school shooting by Adam Lanza in December of 2012, an unstable man who had access to assault weapons killed 26 people. Do you feel safe under The Second Amendment? Many people think these mass shootings could have been stopped if the government had never repealed the 1994 assault weapon ban or if we had universal background checks, keeping this ban active could have saved 26 adults and kids from their death. Not only do mass shooting occur too often but so do attacks that end in tragedy. Trayvon Martin is just one of many who was killed for being an average teen in the U.S. only his life was cut short because he decided to walk through a very unwelcoming neighborhood. Under the Second Amendment everyday citizens are not protected by the current gun control laws.
Why should assault weapons be banned? One of the guns used in Columbine was a 9mm carbine and in the Sandy Hook massacre a Bushmaster XM15-E2S rifle were both assault weapons. Dylan Klebold and Eric Herres got their weapons illegally same with the people that shoot up Sandy Hook. If assault weapons were banned at that time all of the students that died that day would still be alive and probably should have bright futures. That just proves that anyone can get assault weapons illegally or legally. Assault weapons should be banned because they could get sold illegally to the wrong people and cause violence. Assault weapons should be banned.
The current legislation in America is pushing for an “Assault Weapon” ban, in the hopes of diminishing and stop, mass shootings and gun crime, although the ban of “Assault Weapons” will have absolutely no effect on gun crimes and mass shootings. We as Americans are in a crossroad, dived in this issue we face today, everyone has different views and opinions on how should we approach these assault weapons, that we are constantly being informed on the daily news, commonly used by portrayers of evil. The majority of Americans, that are not informed with the way current gun laws, and restrictions are normally the ones that agree with an assault weapon bar or stricter gun control laws.
The rise in cases of gun violence and related incidences of assault has drawn the public to the issue of guns and gun control. Such has been evident within the spheres of politics especially with the last election period seeing the incumbent president Donald Trump suggesting on stringent gun control laws. However, despite the acknowledgment of the need to have better gun laws, much ground and consensus has never reached. Such, to an extent, contributed to the current lack of political goodwill within the country to have the necessary legislations enacted to facilitate the same on the controls (Grandy 23). Of the guns under question are the assault rifles. Like the military weapons, assault rifles have a destructive potential to causing
What is and assault weapon you might ask, The classification of them are it has and telescoping stock, pistol grip, bayonet mount, a grenade launcher, and a flash suppressor. A telescoping stock is a stock that can move up and down and you can adjust it to where ever you want it to be. Not sure why this i a big deal would if your kid wants to shoot your gun you can make it small you them to uses. A pistol grip is a grip that can be mounted underneath you barrel to help you hold your gun more steady what you are fire tons of rounds. A bayonet mount is a mount that you can put a knife on the front of you gun for close combat. A
Over the last decade or so, the United States of America has been shaken by an epidemic of terrifying mass shootings, devastating slayings of unexpecting victims, and unnerving annihilations of the innocent. There is no specific target, no explicitly sought-out group, nor definite individual. From a classroom of first-graders, to a crowded movie theatre, to a U.S. Naval yard, the location seems at most, random, other than that it is almost always a public place. The perpetrators responsible for these horrific murders also vary, and often surprise those who thought they knew them. However, while the occurrences of mass shootings are unpredictable and always shocking, most have one thing in
The Orlando nightclub shooting in Florida on June 12, 2016 was the single largest massacre in U.S history, taking the lives of 50 individuals, including the shooter himself, and injuring 53 others. This is one extreme example of the gun violence that has been occurring in this country, but mass shootings like this and the one at Newton in 2012 are only a small part of our gun violence issue. The everyday gun violence that takes place in cities all across the United States claims the lives of thousands every single year. According to The Guardian, 33,500 civilians die each year because of gun brutality- “that’s about 1 life every 15 minutes” (Beckett). Between the years of 1999 and 2013, there were 464,003 gun deaths in the U.S, about 58% of them were suicides 37% were homicides. (ProCon.org) Gun violence and the consequences of that violence, have become a real and dangerous problem in the U.S , why else would the CDC list the United States as having the highest rate of gun violence out of all developed countries today? (Gale Opposing Viewpoints) This issue is not just attributable to a single factor, there are several that play an important part in why gun violence is such an issue in the U.S, namely laws and poverty; and in these causes we can also find solutions.
There are numerous types of firearms that are available for people to purchase. But, many in the government are trying to pass the assault weapons ban in the United States. An assault weapon is a semi-automatic firearm with a large capacity magazine. It is considered a military rifle and can cause severe damage. According to Phelan IV, “In December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children between six and seven years old, as well as six adult staff members with an assault weapon (Phelan IV).” This brought varying opinions on whether an assault weapons should be banned at the federal level. Opponents say assault weapons should not be banned because of the second amendment and because gun control efforts have proved to be ineffective; however, these weapons should be banned in the U.S., as it is rarely used in self-defense and it can build a safer society.
The United States of America is a nation of massacres by military-type assault weapons. Aware of the deadliness of these weapons and due to public safety concerns clearly outweighing the benefits of personal ownership of military-type assault weapons, the United States passed the 1994 Federal Ban on military-type assault weapons. This ban was notably effective during the 10 years it was in effect. However, the Ban automatically expired in 2004. Since that time, the number of U. S. mass murders has markedly increased. Attempts to reinstate the Ban, most recently the stricter 2013 Ban, have all failed. Nevertheless, the less restrictive 1994 Ban did pass the Senate and House of Representatives at one point and was successful. Therefore, the 1994 Federal Ban on military-type assault weapons should be reinstated.