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Should We Ban “Assault Weapons?”

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shutterstock 501127231

The media and talking heads on television have recently focused much of their attention on an assault weapons ban. But what exactly are “assault weapons,” and will banning them make us safer?

What is an assault weapon?

First, we should recognize that the term “assault weapon” is a made-up political term that lacks a coherent definition. It is a superficial partisan talking point, similar to “defund the police,” “healthy at any size,” or “inflation is transitory.” Of course, the primary so-called assault weapon that garners the most attention today is the AR-15. Some seem to believe that the AR-15 is a unique weapon with almost supernatural abilities and that banning it would make us all safer. But, the anti-Second Amendment Democratic politicians and media activists fail to mention that we already tried that.

The Federal Assault Weapons Ban

From 1994 to 2004, the federal government enacted a ban on the AR-15 and similar assault weapons.

The outcome? The study conducted by the Department of Justice concluded that the ban had no measurable effect on crime. This makes sense. FBI statistics demonstrate that criminals with handguns commit the vast majority of gun-related crimes in the United States.

It should also be noted that rifles account for less than 3% of all gun-related homicides in the US. That figure includes the AR-15 and all the other rifles put together. In fact, more people are killed annually with knives than with rifles.

Moreover, over the past 30 years, Americans have purchased nearly 20 million AR-15s. During that same period, the homicide rate in the US decreased by more than 50%.

The Mass Shootings Justification

Predictably, the anti-Second Amendment crowd often justifies banning AR-15s and assault weapons to “prevent mass shootings.” However, even if we just focus on mass shootings – which account for less than 1% of all gun deaths – you will find that criminals also commit the vast majority with handguns.

In sum, if we truly want to reduce gun violence further, perhaps we should focus on things that will actually make a difference. Specifically, those who profess to care deeply about saving lives should direct their activism towards things like improving the treatment of people with severe mental illness. Or they should advocate for increasing the police presence in dangerous neighborhoods.

Ashton Cohen is an attorney, investor, writer, and host of Ashton Cohen: The ELECTile Dysfunction Podcast.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. nomen nescio

    August 9, 2022 at 3:10 pm

    “Assault weapon” is a nebulous, hard-to-pin-down term that sometimes seems to mean “anything designed after the Civil War.” Leftists like words and phrases that can mean whatever they want them to mean at the moment. It’s politically useful. It isn’t very good for communication, but they don’t care very much about that.

  2. Peter Porsum

    August 11, 2022 at 10:00 am

    The truth about assault weapons is that there is no such specific thing.
    So-called assault weapons are semi-automatic firearms—the gun’s most commonly used by millions of law-abiding Americans. Banning firearms because of their cosmetic features is misguided.
    “Assault weapon”, A political term…“ Prior to 1989, the term “assault weapon” did not exist in the lexicon of firearms. It is a political term, developed by anti-gun publicists to expand the category of “assault rifles.”
    A pencil used to assault someone is, by definition, an assault weapon.
    The mistake they all make is in what is a weapon. The shooter is the weapon. Those are merely tools of convenience.
    Not a gun control problem, it’s a Progressive politics control problem! They have eliminated GOD from schools and public venues. Christian values are their enemy.
    “Not about gun control or bans… guns have been around for decades, in racks in cars, in houses, unlocked and without the issues we see today. There is something wrong with our current culture, parenting, coping ability, mental fortitude… these are the things we need to address and change.” Anonymous. Guns are not the problem or the root cause, just a deflection by the Democrats/Progressives.
    ANY PERSON THAT THINKS THAT BANNING A TYPE OF GUN WILL SOLVE THE PROBLEM IS DELUSIONAL AND LACKING ANY SOUND THOUGHT PROCESS.

    Latest FBI Stats.
    In 2020, all types of rifles COMBINED, were used to kill LESS THAN 500 PEOPLE!!!
    650 people were killed by their assailant’s HANDS and/or FEET in 2020
    KNIVES were used to kill over 1700 people in 2020!!

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