The Importance Of Banning Assault Weapons

Trayvon Benjamin Martin was a 17 year old African American from Miami Gardens, Florida. He was badly shot by George Zimmerman; a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman called 911 to report that there was “suspicious person” walking through the neighborhood. He was told to not do anything, but he did anyway. As he approached Martin, he attacked him and shot him straight to the heart. According to CNN, “Zimmerman acknowledges that he shot Martin, claiming it was in self-defense.” (“Trayvon Martin Shooting Fast Facts”). When the case was taken to court George Zimmerman was found not guilty even after he

When I was a kid, I did not think about gun violence. In fact, I grew up in a household that accepted guns. My dad, uncle, and grandfather all owned guns, and I never really gave much thought about it. When I was younger my dad bought me a little BB gun and taught me how to use it. We used to go outside in our backyard which was all fenced off. He taught me all the safety precautions, and set up the paper targets for me to shoot. I always believed that was normal, everyone owned guns. I didn't realize the importance in which they played, in our society, for protection, until July 20, 2012. I watched the frightening and horrific incident that took place in a no gun-zone theater in Aurora, Colorado. It was that day at my house that the importance of guns became very clear to me. As I watched the intense news, I saw how all those victims were in danger, and how they appeared so helpless. They were trapped, and left with nothing to do but call 911, and wait for the police to show up. In the last five years, I have come to realization the importance that guns play, whether or not it is in a gun-free zone or not. They are a base of protection, because attackers will always find away to obtain them.

The issue of banning assault weapons and large capacity magazines has been debated for years, but has never been discussed with such urgency as it is now. The issue is the banning of assault weapons in our society. Are we the kind of country that allows and encourages its citizens to own weapons of mass destruction? The moral issue we face is banning ownership of these weapons to ordinary citizens while protecting their rights under the second amendment of our Constitution. Considering the bloodshed and death that assault weapons cause in the hands of citizens and criminals, it seems to me that assault weapons do not have a place in our homes and society.

Assault style or automatic weapons have been a common denominator in almost all fatal mass shootings. It is unnecessary for civilians to purchase automatic weapons for non-military use. If there was a ban on the purchasing of militarized weapons by civilians, it would decrease the number of fatal mass shootings drastically.

Martin, while staying with his father and stepmother, walked to the local 7-11 for snacks, famously depicted in social media as Skittles and Arizona Ice Tea. On his journey back, Zimmerman spotted Martin, whose hoodie was up; Zimmerman then called the police to consult law enforcement officers on how to approach the “suspicious” character. The Sanford Police advised against confrontation, but Zimmerman took matters into his own hands, and proceeded to pursue Martin, fire his weapon, and kill the seventeen-year-old (“Trayvon Martin”). Martin was declared dead when the police arrived at the scene, where Zimmerman stood with the act as self-defense (“The Trayvon Martin Case”). This case was very controversial in that Martin was fired upon without any real threat towards Zimmerman, leading to accusations of racial profiling of black youths. To make matters worse, Zimmerman was found not guilty, due to lack of sufficient evidence, and acquitted of the second-degree murder charges (“Trayvon Martin”). This caused major unrest throughout the nation, sparking outrage and protests among many African Americans and equal rights advocates, alike. Critics of Zimmerman not only call foul on

If everyone had access to normal guns only, and the one bad person wants to go on a shooting rampage, he will not able to kill that many innocent people ,someone would have time to disarm that bad person or shoot him. For example, “in 2012, a gunman using several weapons, including an assault rifle, opened fire in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 and wounding 58” (Assault Weapons) if there was a ban on those weapons he couldn’t of hurt that many people. Many lives could have been saved, and crimes could have been prevented with a banning in the use of assault

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.

There is currently an ongoing debate in the U.S whether or not the government should ban assault weapons. An assault weapon is a semi-automatic weapon that has a larger magazine that is capable of holding more bullets, and fires a bullet every time the trigger is pulled. There are also assault weapons categorized as machine guns that fire bullets as long as the trigger is held down in a constant state. What differentiates assault weapons from other guns is that assault weapons are deadlier for they have semi-automatic capability, larger ammunition and military like features. It makes the weapons more appealing to people who want to kill large amounts of people. The likelihood or ability to obtain an assault weapon in the United States are

George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch leader, was driving to Target to run a errand on the night of February 26, 2012 when he observed a suspicious person, leisurely walking in the rain, looking at all the houses, wearing a grey hoodie as he would tell dispatch in his 911 call made at 7:09 p.m. Moments later an altercation occurred between Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin, which left Trayvon dead from a single gunshot wound to his chest and Zimmerman with a bloody nose and a cut to the back of his head. Zimmerman asserted that the shooting was done in self-defense because he thought Trayvon was reaching for his ( Zimmerman’s ) concealed gun and he feared for his life. Eye witness accounts of the event backed his claim that Trayvon was hitting him, but Rachel Jeantel, who had been on the phone with Trayvon,

The mounting deaths and associated trauma from mass shootings should motivate us to take action to make needed reforms to our gun laws, focus law enforcement resources on combating illegal gun possession and invest in prevention initiatives proven to reduce gun violence. Assault weapons cause more harm than good when they are able to purchased and owned by private citizens. And while most who do own and use these powerful weapons for harmless, recreational activities or a sense of protection, the fact is that when they fall into the hands of individuals who are not mentally sound enough to possess something of such force, the result is one of horrific tragedy. The government must take into consideration the hundreds of innocent people who have lost their lives as a result of these dangerous weapons, and work on ways to prevent

Gun regulation has been a controversial topic since they were first established as a weapon. People for and against gun regulation provide strong arguments for their side. Gun regulation has fluctuated over time due to changes in office. Being a democracy prevents us from having consistency. As a nation we continue to change regulations on guns because of the different views our democracy allows us to have. The main aspects pose the most problems in gun control are violence, illegal sale of guns, and mental health checks.

Guns have been around for a very long time. People love being able to have the freedom to do what they want, especially when they can possess something that make them feel superior. The introduction of the Second Amendment opens up the controversial, yet well anticipated opportunity for United State citizens to be able to own guns. Americans enjoy the benefit of being able to own guns for decades over people in other countries. People can buy guns and carry them around in public. They own guns for many reasons such as to hunt, to protect themselves, and simply to satisfy their desire of owning a gun, but in recent years, the issue of people carry guns has become a problem. There are so many people get killed by guns in different parts of

A new Quinnipiac survey released this week found that there is a strong opposition to ban military-style assault weapons. Among those who oppose the ban are the millennials, The Guardian reported.