Argumentative Essay: Should Assault Weapons Be Banned

In most recent years, legislation in the United States has done little to implement stricter gun control laws due to the gridlocks in Congress surrounding the divisive issue. The Assault Weapon Ban was created in 1994 and lasted until 2004, and during these years, it became illegal to produce certain automatic weapons and purchase high capacity cartridges. After the creation of this law, many weapon manufacturers began to find ways around the ban by modifying weapons so they did not fall into the category of banned firearms (Plumer). With the research that exists today it is hard to credit the ban with reducing gun violence, but statistically during this time period the number of people killed in mass shootings did go down and since the ban has expired the number of mass shootings per year has

People people of the United States hope to change this in the years coming by banning. Even though certain people could still hold powers to assault weapons, they are trusted people and that they should only use them for serious

The reason rifles are need to defend against a tyrannical government is because the military uses rifles and body armor so pistols aren’t as effective against them and if the people are out gunned and skilled by the military they will lose in the effort to defend their freedom. One of the biggest issues with people demanding gun control on assault rifles is that they are misinformed. The definition of assault rifle is “any of various intermediate-range, magazine-fed military rifles (such as the AK-47) that can be set for automatic or semiautomatic fire” according to merriam-webster. The current gun control laws are already heavily restrictive on assault rifles. The current law requires the person to send in photos of themselves, send in fingerprints, fill out an application, interview with ATF, interview

When the criminal is finally arrested, there a dozens of people who have been killed, injured, or fatally injured. All because of one man with a gun. Do you really want your life to be at risk because there is no law banning assault weapons? Do you want to walk down the hallway in fear of someone coming at you with a gun? According to an article from the Washington Post, written by Christopher Ingraham, the president/founder of a public opinions research, the ban on assault weapons lapsed, or expired, in 2004.

There’s no point in banning all sorts of guns at this point in time and everyone should know how to use this “self-defence” weapon efficiently. You can place a gun, a knife or a bat all side by side, none of them are going to do anything until someone picks them up to use them! The tragic shooting at Newtown reminded us not only of the need for gun control but also mental health support. From the day each individual graduates from this seven-day training period, every child will be required to carry assault rifles at all times of the day, whether it be in school, at the mall, or at home, in order to ensure the best protection. However, I am not an unreasonable person.

A gun is made to be used at its full capability.  Weapons are used also for protection over your family,(“A ban on assault weapons would not reduce crime”) also said, “ California 's murder rate increased every year for five years, twenty-six percent total. That is a perfect example of why some people feel the need to keep a gun or firearm in their homes, they are aware of the murder rate due to the media. People do not want to take a chance on someone hurting them so they feel the need to have one, witch is understandable because the murder rate has raised in the last 5 years there. You don’t want your firearm to not be able to be used to its maximum strength at a time if someone was to try to harm you, you would want it to be able to be used at its maximum strength to be able to protect you from harm.

There are many reasons why this assumption is incorrect. Many people are severely misinformed on this subject. Assault rifles are the exact same as any other hand pistol you can buy. They all fire one bullet with each pull of the trigger. Many think they shoot faster or cause more damage which is incorrect.

These types of weapons only benefit the military and there is no reason for a regular citizen to own a military level weapon. Opponents argue that they can be used for personal protection and recreational use but there is no logical reason to use a semiautomatic gun when you’re just trying to “have fun.” A New York Times editorial argued, “Certain kinds of weapons, like the slightly modified combat rifles used in California, and certain kinds of ammunition, must be outlawed for civilian ownership.” As many Americans agree assault weapons are far deadlier than other firearms (Assault Weapons). “From 1984 to 2012, assailants who used large capacity ammunition magazines were able to shoot 161 percent more people and kill 78 percent more victims than those who used a weapon holding 10 bullets or fewer,” Argued Richard Aborn, president of the Citizens Crime Commission in New York (Assault Weapons).

Gun Violence In America Gun violence in america accounted for 33,636 deaths in 2015 alone and that number is only rising. If every american was able to obtain a firearm imagine what the numbers of gun related deaths. Even gun related injuries caused many more hospital visits in america what many other common incidents. That is why america needs to implement tighter gun laws to reduce the amount of gun violence in America. Without this we will continue to see shooting, gun death, gun injuries resulting in more and more gun related violence.

But what should be done about assault weapons? There should be no reason for homeowners and everyday citizens to own such things as an AR-15 or a Machine Gun. Assault weapons should not be permitted in the US. The majority of assault weapons that are used for these shootings are acquired legally by shooters. In some of the most recent major attacks, “killers in Las Vegas and Orlando attacks… walk into gun shops and legally purchase assault weapons” (Ingraham).

In the past, the major gun control legislations that have been put into effect have not stopped people from obtaining firearms (Gun Control.) There have also been cases in the past where cities have attempted to ban handguns. After the ban was put into effect, murder rates tended to rise instead of drop, unlike what most people might assume. Crime rates and violence also skyrocketed after the bans were put into effect. Another problem with taking guns away, or banning them, is that the government cannot expect everyone to abide by the laws.

The definition of an assault rifle is muddy, as avid gun owners tend to disagree with the term as it’s used. Most say that assault rifles should only be defined as fully automatic military-style rifles (Goode), but for ease of understanding, let’s assume that they are what most of the public refers to them as- semi/fully automatic weapons. From the years 1982-2012, 99 of the weapons used in mass shootings were semi automatic handguns or rifles (Follman). In the Las Vegas shooting, where one man killed 58 and injured over 800, local police found 18 assault weapons in his hotel room (Alsup). This, coupled with America’s history of mass shootings, is a justifiable reason to at least bring up a

They can be used to defend and protect as well as to threaten and kill. Guns and crime go together. A study conducted by the American Journal of Public Health found that the legal purchase of a gun seems to be associated with an increased risk of violent death. Every year, Americans are shocked by numerous mass shootings and senseless acts of violence involving guns and weapons. And, every year around 100,000 people are shot among which 18,000 are children and teens (Lane, 131).

Which true and convincing until you realize that even if we do ban guns then yes criminals can still but they illegally from the black market. But consider this, if a criminal saw a XM-15 Bushmaster or another semi-automatic gun sitting on his table, he can just pick it up and go kill people. But if those weapons were banned he would need to go through many blackmarket and illegal places, which may be unreachable to him because of his lack of knowledge. And to top it off most of the people who do a mass shooting against innocent people are not criminals they are just mentally challenged and they probably won't go through the process of going to a black market or purchasing it illegally if they had to. Of course we will never be able to stop shootings but if we make the gun harder for the shooters to get than we could lessen the gun death rate by a

Pistols aren’t the only problem but automatic weapons are legal in only a few places and the United States is one of them. It is illegal to hunt with automatic weapons, they are only used for home defense and recreation. Is it worth keeping automatic weapons and semi-automatic weapons for home defense and recreation when tens of thousands of people die each year from gun violence? Banning pistols could have the same effect as it did in Australia and reduce the crime rates and