Gun Control Controls Nothing

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More and more frequently, we are saddened by the news of mass shootings. Whether it takes place in a school or public area, these shootings are both disastrous and mortifying. Families begin to feel anger and sadness, and demand immediate justice. Although these terrible events continue to happen, there have been no significant steps taken towards the reduction in the number of weapons; specifically assault rifles. This leads one to question do we need to ban the right to possess such weapons? If the possession of these weapons is not made illegal, we run the risk of another attack. While there is no questioning the severity of these mass shootings, a ban on assault rifles is not the answer because they are not the cause of such events, and it is a constitutional right to own them.

In 1994, Congress passed the Federal Assault Weapons Ban which eliminated the manufacturing of certain assault rifles for private use (Plumer). This bill expired in 2004, though, and was never redrafted. Many mass shootings in the last few years, especially ones at Virginia Tech, a movie theater in Colorado, and Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut have stirred up pressure to pass a new bill. Following the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut last December, California Senator, Dianne Feinstein, drafted a bill to potentially ban the sale, transfer, manufacturing, and importation of assault rifles. This bill includes a ban on semiautomatic rifles, pistols, shotguns, and handguns. Additionally, it bans 157 other specifically-named firearms and certain ammunition feeding devices (Feinstein). Excluded from this ban are registered weapons at the date of the bill’s enactment and assault weapons used by military, law enforc...

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Pratt, Erich. "Background Checks Would Not Have Stopped Sandy Hook Shooter." US News.

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Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Prohibition." 20th Century History. About.com, 2013. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.

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"The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America." National Institute of Mental Health, 2013.

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