National Shooting Sports Foundation, “So-called ‘Assault weapons’ are more often then not less powerful then other hunting rifles. The term ‘assault weapons’ was conjured up by anti-gun legislators in an attempt to scare registered voters into thinking these firearms are something out of a horror or war movie. The AR-15 rifle which is labeled as an ‘assault weapon’ is mostly used for marksmanship in various legitimate competitions here in the United States. Plus their cartridges are used as a standard hunting caliber which is used for hunting game animals like deer or elk.
Between 1982 and 2012 there were 63 mass shootings here in the United States. 49 of the shooters had legally obtained their firearms. Collectively this includes 143 guns were possessed by 75% of the killers who had purchased these guns legally. John R. Lott, Jr., PhD stated “The problem with such gun control lases is that they take away guns from law-abiding citizens, all while would-be criminals ignore these laws”. In a May 2013 Bureau of Justice Statistics report concluded 37.4% of state prison inmates who “used, carried, or possessed a firearm when they committed the crime for which they were serving a prison sentence” obtained the gun from a family member or a friend. This was done despite their ability to legally own or possess a firearm under the law. Chicago which has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation had 2089 shooting victims, and 390 murders in 2014. The Chicago police department recovered over 50,000 guns between 2001 and March 2012. They concluded these guns came from across the nation, and more then half of the total guns came into the city from outside of Illinois.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports “Leading Causes of Death Reports,” between 1999 and 2013, Americans were 21.5 times more likely to die of heart disease (9.691,733 deaths); 18.7 times more likely to die from malignant tumors (8,458,868 deaths); and 2.4 times more likely to die of diabetes or 2.3 times more likely to die of Alzheimer’s (1,080,298 and 1,053,207 respectively) then to die from a firearm whether if it’s by accident, homicide, or suicide. In 2012 the United States was ranked 28th in the international homicide rates with 2.97-gun murders per 100,000 people. The US dropped to the 31st highest rate in the world in 2016.
I think based on these stated facts there is an inductive reason to why gun control legislation will do nothing to reduce gun violence. The reality is when we have a mass shooting people react to these traumatic situations with very raw emotions. Its hard to not get caught up in the belief that it could have been prevented. But I feel to prevent something you must look at all the root causes of the mass shooting. This includes the ability for the person to legally own the firearm, did they have a criminal record, or as with many of these cases did, they suffer from mental illness? Another factor that now must be considered is was the shooting terror related.
I am a supporter of background checks to ensure weapons don’t fall in the hands of the wrong people. We must keep these weapons out of the hands of those who may be mentally ill, and gun owners should practice safe storage of all weapons. I believe I have a Constitutional right to bear arms, and it should not be infringed upon.
