02/07/2013
GOV 100 Paper Assignment #2

Gun Control: - S.150 - Assault Weapons Ban of 2013

Connecticut December 2012, a Bushmaster AR-15 assault weapon was involved in the deaths of twenty children. Colorado, an AR-15 assault rifle was involved in the killing of twelve innocent civilians at a movie theater. A TEC-DC 9, Hi-Point 995 Carbin, and a Savage 67H shotgun involved in killing eleven high school students along with one high school teacher in Colorado. The fundamental question here, is that why are such powerful assault weapons in the hands of civilians? Most Americans are against the possession of assault weapons in the hands of the civilians. Established in 1791, The 2nd Amendment in the Bill of Rights gives citizens the right to bear arms. The founding fathers had intended for American citizens to have the right to bear arms to protect themselves from a tyrannical government regime. Which was a legitimate concern during that time period that does not uphold presently. However, throughout history the American government makes changes to the constitution as the country goes through economic expansion and technological progress. A fine example is the 1965 voting act, which outlawed discriminatory voting. It was indeed a necessary and important act implemented to uphold the ideal of equality among all American citizens.

As time and circumstances change, so must the terms and conditions that govern them. Essentially, the interpretation of the constitution must change to some extent. The American society that is being cultivated up to this point in today’s time is morally and practically very different from the society that existed at the time when the constitution was written. Since the violence, division, and threat in today’s American society have most definitely presented new circumstances and challenges in the country. Assault weapons are defined as semiautomatic firearms, generally a rifle but can be a pistol, possessing features that are similar to military firearms. Semi-Automatic fires on round each time the trigger is pulled, without manually operating a lever or loading any ammunition. Additionally, they have a detachable clip that allows rapid reloading of ammunition. The debate on the ban of assault weapons generally divides Americans, as there are very strong sentiments on both sides of whether or not to ban these powerful weapons capable of mass killings. The opposing sides of the debate on this issue also present economic and political effects.

2011 polls indicate that a majority of 76% of the American public believed that there should in fact be restrictions on firearms in the country. The people who stand for the federal assault weapons ban argue that the ability to continuously release bullets with an assault weapon allows mass destruction in a very short time relatively to other weapons such as pistols or handguns. Weapons capable of such mass killing are unnecessary for self-defense or even hunting purposes. Research indicates that even perfectly law-abiding citizens sometimes become deranged under the influence of various narcotics, and if they were to have access to such powerful weapons they are easily able to cause some serious damage and harm a lot of people around them. “We cannot simply accept this as a routine product of modern American life. If now is not the time to have a serious discussion about gun control and the epidemic of gun violence plaguing our society, I don't know when is," says Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York showing his support for the ban of assault weapons. Of course there is another side of this highly debated issue. There are many citizens who do not want the assault weapons ban to be implemented. They use the 2nd Amendment as a justification to their argument. It makes provisions for the people and gives them the right to bare arms. The 2nd Amendment was formed for one purpose, which was to help protect the public from a dictatorship. The argument that the government could become oppressive is a faulty one. In reality even if it did, the government possesses far stronger weapons than any assault rifle. The non-supporters of the assault weapon ban are almost certain that if this ban is implemented, more restrictions on the possession of weapons will follow. Ban on assault weapons have other far-reaching consequences. They are both political as well as economical in nature. The National Rifle Association is against all kinds of regulation of guns. They hide behind the 2nd amendment in order to justify their argument. They argue that the 2nd amendment protects the rights of citizens to bear arms. They are convinced that any regulation on firearms would eventually pave the way for further bans on firearms in the future. The NRA is extremely powerful in the world of politics. They fund a lot of money into politics. Since the NRA is such a powerful body, with many members. There could be potentially a big effect on voting regarding this issue. Amendment proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, to re-establish a federal ban on assault weapons was defeated by a vote of 40 to 60. A separate amendment introduced by Sen. Frank Lautenberg and Richard Blumenthal to limit the size of magazines to 10 rounds was also defeated with a vote of 46 to 54. Republican senator Mark Kirk voted in favor of both amendments. Where as, democrats Sen. Max Baucus, Mark Begich, Michael Bennet, Joe Donnelly, Kay Hagan, Martin Heinrich, Heidi Heitkamp, Tim Johnson, Mary Landrieu, Joe Manchin, Mark Pryor, Jon Tester, Mark Udall, Tom Udall, and Mark Warner and Sen. Angus King all voted against the ban. "I have watched these votes, and I must say I view them with substantial dismay at the lack of courage in this house," Feinstein said ahead of the assault weapons vote. Courage to stand up and say we've had enough of these killings. I know how this is going to end, and the despair and the dismay of families standing out there whose safety we need to protect ... and we don't do it," Feinstein added. "I am really chagrined and concerned. If anybody cares ... show some guts." disappointingly says Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

There are many debated reasons for the failure to implement this ban. First, according to studies done of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban, the ban had little effect on reducing gun crime. A Dept. of Justice study of the original ban points out that they were unable to detect any reduction to date in two types of gun murders that are thought to be closely associated with assault weapons, they are those with multiple victims in a single incident, and those with producing multiple bullet wounds per victim. The study also claims that the assault weapons ban can have only a limited effect on total gun murders. Second, The vast majority of crime is conducted with handguns and not firearms. According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reports in 2011, out of the 8583 firearm homicides that took place during 2011, 6220 were committed by handguns, and only 323 were committed by rifles. Finally, an assault weapons ban focuses on a small subset of guns that are very rarely used in crime. Of course gun control laws limit the law-abiding citizen's ability to obtain a firearm, but what about the criminals? Cities such as Detroit, Washington D.C., Chicago, Baltimore have strict gun control laws, however, these cities also have the worst gun related crimes.

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