What Are Assault Weapons?

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.

The United States contains 5% of the world’s population. However, our nation covers 35-50% of the world’s civilian-owned guns, is ranked first for firearms per capita, and holds the highest homicide rate among all other nations of wealth and democracy at 88.5% (Masters). Such high rates and loose restrictions are bound to lead to tragedy. We will not sit here and make excuses, we will not allow power in the hands of insanity, and we will not allow the safety of our children to be hindered. After each tragedy that has struck, we have failed to successfully improve gun control. As of now, we hold no federal law banning semi-automatic assault weapons, just like the weapons used in the Las Vegas massacre, resulting in

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.

Around the world, guns are used in various things such as hunting, warfare, shooting ranges, and much more. There is one particular action that has increased drastically within the past decades. This is none other than mass shootings in the United States. Since the spark in mass shootings, people have discussed ways to prevent this from happening, but others do not want the laws to change. Although each argument has their benefits and liabilities, America must do something about the deaths and injuries of thousands of people. Changing the laws would have benefits such as decrease in deaths and injuries of others and reduce the societal costs, but argues against the Constitution.

Every time there is a mass shooting, the government proposes new rules, but they never put them in place because of the National Rifle Association (NRA) is influencing the government, therefore, Congress has not been able to renew or place a ban on assault weapons.

Gun control in the U.S has been a highly talked about topic the past couple of years. Through the development of technology and social media; many people across the country have been more involved in voicing their opinions about this issue. America is known as the land of the free, many people take pride in being able to bare arms. However, this right has been abused by not only civilians, but law enforcement as well. The United States has the 31st highest rate of gun violence in the world and it is not decreasing anytime soon. The phrase “America's largest mass shooting” has been reassigned to numerous occurrences that have taken place over the past decade. It is apparent that through these tragedies it is time for a serious change, innocent lives are being lost for no reason.

Mass shootings are a controversial subject because many do not want to rush into gun control because they could because anxious from any recent mass shootings. Supporters of gun control believe that taking away “assault weapons” would solve this but that word was made up in the wake of these shootings . “Assault Weapons” are made up assault rifles are standard practice for the military as they are fully automatic and have big capacity magazines and are made specifically to do major damage. The “Assault Weapons” many supporters want to ban are known as semi-automatic rifles and have been around since the early days of the war with vietnam. In fact the AR-15 the most popular rifle in America and it was originally developed 60 years ago as defensive weapon and the company that developed it sold the rights to Colt to make fully automatic versions for the military called the M16 but also sold

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

America is known as the land of opportunity, freedom, fast food, and raging numbers of gun violence. According to Mass Shooting Tracker there has been about 367 shootings so far since the year started (Mass Shooting Tracker). This is outrageous considering that in other countries, gun shooting numbers don 't even reach a two-digit number. Far too many people have been victims of these unregulated weapons, claiming lives and ripping families apart. There is no safe place from these assault weapons, no movie theater, night club, church, or school. American’s must deal with the fact that any unsuited person is legally allowed to purchase a weapon with the weak regulations we currently have. Assault weapons have been damaging for this country and it 's time to change the laws. Gun regulations and laws need to be stricter to make it harder for individuals to purchase guns to prevent any future tragedies from happening.

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

Nutter explains in a recent article, that since the federal assault weapon ban expired in 2004; we have seen numerous tragedies where deranged killers murdered dozens of innocent people by having the ability to shoot many bullets without actually having to reload. He also gives several examples of shootings in which the killers all had weapons with large-capacity magazines. One example would be the shooting in Tucson Arizona, where a 9-year-old girl and federal judge were among six people killed along with 13 others injured. The gunman happened to have used a 33-round magazine (Nutter, 2011).

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.

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.

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.