The Pros And Cons Of A Banned Assault Weapon

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

The majority of gun crimes are committed with handguns and assault riffles. Assault riffles should be banned from retail all together, and there should be a more detailed process when purchasing handguns. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act requires purchasers to complete a background check and a five day waiting period before they are allowed to purchase a gun. This seems to help so that we aren’t putting guns into criminal’s hands straight from the store, but it is not an overall solution. (www.nraila.org)

If there was some type of ban on assault weapons, many lives could be saved. Assault weapons are becoming very attractive to criminals because of their capacity, “an assault weapon is generally considered to be a semiautomatic weapon with a detachable ammunition magazine and some type of advanced feature typically used in military-grade weapons.”(Assault Weapons) For example, most military-style weapons have high capacity of ammunition, meaning they can kill a lot of people in a very short time. Implementing

The first thing is that assault weapons can be bought and sold illegally online and in person, but mainly

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 banning of firearms in America is an illegal act, and degrades the values this country was founded on. They not only play a vital role in many people's lives, but are useful tools, fun to use, and can protect people from harm. Our founding fathers wanted us to have them to protect ourselves from the government, and would be disgusted at our government's current abuse, and overall disregard of the constitution of the United States. A lot of people argue that guns kill people; this is untrue. Guns in the hands of a negligent person have potential to kill people, just as anything else.

As big of a threat as they may seem, assault rifles are not the first major weapon to wreak havoc on the citizens of the United States. If we take a time machine back in time, we can see that when there are weapons

There is almost nothing that absolutely requires one to own an assault weapon as opposed to a less destructive firearm, such as a handgun, as assault weapons tend to be bulky, quite noticeable, and not necessarily accurate. Lastly, opponents of gun control laws argue that an assault weapon ban would spawn an aggressive blackmarket for [assault] weapons, allowing the guns to fall into the hands of criminals and the mentally unstable, as there would be no background checks or regulations whatsoever. Though this is a plausible effect, with an assault weapons ban there would be less guns readily available to circulate this said “blackmarket”.

Anyone who believes strengthening the gun control laws would reduce gun violence is correct. However, if someone wants to kill someone, not having a gun is unfortunately not going to stop him or her. If a gun is not accessible, a person who wishes to kill someone will use another weapon that is accessible, such as a knife or bludgeon of sorts. Banning guns will lessen gun violence, but will bring up a rise in violence with other weapons.

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.

Experts believe that the youth favoring the assault weapons may have something to do with the popularity of first-person shooter video games such as Call of Duty. They also cited the increasing prominence of military-style guns in the market.

The NRA argues that “assault weapons,” or those kind of semi-automatic guns designated in the ban, “have never been used in more than a small percentage of firearm-related crimes.” Some people might say, “Guns are not safe” which in some cases they aren’t. It just depends on who has the gun at the time. We should have a little bit of control on guns just because many criminals purchase guns legally and use them to commit crimes. Background checks should be mandatory when buying any gun from

The idea of completely outlawing handguns does not solve the problem of handgun violence. In fact, this idea would persuade some people to defy the law and keep their gun or guns for safety or for malicious intentions. One in five Americans own a handgun ("Guns In America"). The chances that all of these people will give up their guns, when they could hide them and likely never get caught, is very slim. The idea of completely outlawing handguns is a tactic

Some people believe that extremely tight gun control laws will eliminate crime, but gun control laws only prevent the 'good guys' from obtaining firearms. Criminals will always have ways of getting weapons, whether it be from the black market, cross borders, or illegal street sales. New gun control laws will not stop them. Since the shootings of Columbine High School, Virginia Tech, and Sandy Hook, the frequency of mass shootings has increased greatly. Gun control is not effective as it has not been shown to actually reduce the number of gun-related crimes. Instead of considering a ban of private firearm possession, and violating individual ownership rights, it may be more practical to consider the option of partially restricting firearm