In the weapons field, mainly guns and ammunition, certain developments have emerged with the most common being the evolution of assault firearms which are quickly replacing the standard pistols. The military description of the assault weapon is any rifle that has automatic or semi-automatic features. An excellent example of such weapons is the AB3, Colt CM901 and the AR-15 style which is the most used in the recent mass killings in America. The topic of whether the assault weapon should be banned is one that has triggered heated debates between the gun advocates and the anti-gun groups. The gun supporters argue that the riffles do not assault humans and thus it is the anti-guns unions that branded the weapons with such a term. A group that supports the use of the guns claims that it is unconstitutional to ban them. According to me as much as it is illegal to burn such firearms, the harm that criminals have done with them is fatal and thus need to be banned in America.
Assault Weapons should be banned
The only way to stop massacres and violent crimes as those witnessed some time back in a school in Chicago and Orlando is to abolish the acquisition of AR-15 types by the citizens. One man alleged to be of the Islamic faith was able to purchase a pistol and an automatic rifle with which forty-nine people lost their lives in a pub in Orlando. If the individual was only armed with a gun, the fatality would not have been as it was. Studies on civilian assault guns reveal that at times they are very deadly than the military firearms because of their accuracy in shootings. The unique function designs make the guns unsuitable in the hands of residents. The features that make the weapons very dangerous are its ability to incorporate a high aptitude magazine, the forward grip and a hole that makes the thumb grip firm.
Another reason why America should ban such weapons from being sold to civilians is that it is difficult to find out what people intend to do with their assault rifles. We also cannot arrest people by their thoughts and therefore we end up being shocked when the ideas of the criminals among the civilians in possession of the circulating firearms end up killing and injuring hundreds with few shots. There has also been what we can view as an arms race between the police, residents and the criminals. Criminals are currently buying the semi-automatic guns to intimidated and outgun the forces. In a recent incident in Los Angeles, residents especially shopkeepers were firing at the officer's patrol cars.
Apart from mass killings by the terrorist, America should ban assault weapons because they are making the fight against narcotic drugs in America a significant challenge. According to the National Drug Control Strategy, the major problem is the failure to address the issue of assault weapons by responsible bodies in America in their fight against drugs (Jacobs 681). The drug dealers when pursued by the police often use the unique features of the assault weapons to intimidate the police (Rossi 13). The number of police officers, teenagers, youths and citizens who have died in shootouts in the US states between police and the drugs dealers is worth a ban of possession of the assault firearms by civilians (Rossi 13).
Counterargument
Those individuals and groups that are against the ban of the assaults weapons apart from terming it unconstitutional, they also argue that firearms are significant for hunting and protecting their families from intruders. The gun lawyers have even been heard saying that guns will not murder people, but instead, humans kill each other (Weiss 577).
Rebuttal
In rebutting the assault weapons supporters, the anti-gun groups argue that no one needs a gun with such features as those of an AR-15 to hunt down a dear. Instead there are other types of arms which are made specifically for hunting. The standard pistols are also sufficient for protection from intruders. The only moments we see the assault weapons in use is when the gangs are raiding supermarkets and when conducting mass killings (Jacobs 681).
Conclusion
The increasing number of mass shootings deaths in American cities is mainly due to the rising supply of the semi-automatic rifles to the public. The most suitable solution to reducing such criminal acts is not to increase prisons but rather to ban the sale of assault weapons to the public. The expanded arms race among the criminals and the police forces is also a good reason as to why the semiautomatic guns should be restricted from the civilians. The gun lawyers argue that guns are good for hunting and family protection, but I don’t think somebody needs a rifle loaded with twenty bullets to hunt a dear or even to kill an intruder. The guns supporters also fail to realize that access to rifles contribute to mass killings when they say that weapons do not kill anyone, but people kill one another.
Works Cited
Jacobs, James B. "Why Ban Assault Weapons." Cardozo L. Rev. 37 (2015): 681.
Rossi, Peter H. Armed and considered dangerous: A survey of felons and their firearms. Routledge, 2017.
Weiss, Jonathan A. "A Reply to Advocates of Gun-Control Law." J. Urb. L.
52 (1974): 577.
