Ban Assault Weapons
By: Evan Karabetsos
Introduction
Would you want to allow guns used to kill people quickly and efficiently in our country?("Assault Weapons Policy Summary"). Many incidents have taken place recently, including the Aurora Shooting and the Sandy Hook Shooting. These incidents both involve the shooters using assault weapons to kill their victims. In the Sandy Hook Shooting, the suspect was able to use an AR-15, which was one of the weapons targeted by the Assault Weapons Ban, and went into the school and killed 26 individuals in less than five minutes (Beckett). These semi-automatic guns allow the shooter to shoot many bullets without having to reload (Feinstein). This ban would allow for easier security from the FBI against terrorism (Matthews). These guns are a setback and disgrace to our nation. Assault weapons and large magazines should be banned because they give criminals better guns than police officers and these guns can cause more deaths in a small amount of time.
Concessions
Some gun right supporters believe that this ban will violate the rights given by the Second Amendment.
Others say that even if the guns and magazines are banned there will still be hundreds of thousands in our nation because of the ones made before the ban ("Ten Reasons Why States Should Reject "Assault Weapon" and "Large" Magazine Ban)
Rebuttal Paragraph 1
Assault weapons should be banned because they give criminals an opportunity to "outgun" police officers. Police officers only have small pistols and giving criminals a better gun than police officer hurts our nation's safety. This ban was recommended to stop criminals from getting bigger and better guns than policemen have ("Assault Weapons Policy Summary"). Police officers are only issued small pistols and give offenders the chance to easily kill our nation's policemen. The ban targets any semi automatic rifles and magazines holding more than ten rounds which policemen do not have. This makes it easier for police officers to defend our country. Without this ban, police officers would be at high risk ("Charles Schumer on Gun Control"). Our policemen should not be at high risk when defending our country.
Rebuttal Paragraph 2
These guns and magazines should also be banned because they can kill more people in a small amount of time. These assault weapons have been used in about one-fourth of all mass murders since 1982. These guns can shoot many bullets at a fast rate while the shooter can easily control the gun enabling the offender to kill more people quickly. In the Aurora shooting, James Holmes used an AR-15,which is capable of holding a one hundred round magazine and can shoot about a bullet per second (Matthews). These large magazines have been used in one-half of mass murders since 1982. These magazines allow the shooter to shoot a large amount of bullets without having to reload ("Charles Schumer on Gun Control"). These guns and magazines make it easier for offenders to kill by being able to shoot bullets faster and being able to not have to reload (Beckett). Shooters should not have the ability to kill more people in a short amount of time.
Semi Automatic Rifle Shooting
This shows the ability of semi automatic rifles to fire bullets at targets from a long range.
Conclusion
Assault weapons should be banned because of their ability to let offenders have better guns than policemen and give the shooter an ability to kill more people in a small amount of time. Do our country a favor and stop buying these assault weapons and large magazines which have caused a large number of mass murders. Help our country become safer and vote for the renewal of an assault weapons ban. We need everyone's help!