Reinstate The Ban On Assault Weapons

There is a long time debate whether guns kill people, or people kill people.

However you look at it, the fact is; people with guns kill people. This is evident in the recent Aurora, Co. shooting. Could this have been prevented?

Whenever a mass murder takes place in our country, we as a nation become polarized when it comes to the second amendment. Our right to bare arms is one of our most talked about and controversial pieces of legislation in our Bill Of Rights.

But, when they adopted it in 1791, did law makers ever hear of an AR-15? A sub machine uzi? Even a Tommy gun? Nope.

The semi-automatic weapon is as dangerous as an automatic weapon. The difference being, that semi - automatic requires you to pull the trigger after each round. An automatic allows you to hold the trigger and dispense at will. Neither semi-automatic or automatic seem to be conducive to squirrel hunting. So the question remains; Why on earth would someone need such a weapon? Especially a private citizen?

In 1994 enough people asked this very question... Enough in fact to merit a ten year ban on assault rifles in the U.S. Unfortunately, that ban expired in 2004 and no attempts to reinstate it have been made. Since then, Americans have been stockpiling, and legally obtaining semiautomatic weapons via the internet and in person with very little difficulty.

Again, who needs these weapons? Hunters? Unless you’re hunting a deer with gang ties, you’re probably over armed.

The fact is, NOBODY needs them. At least, nobody in the private sector. Gun enthusiasts will just have to get excited about what’s available to them. Staunch efforts to reinstate the ban are underway. Incidents like this should awaken us to the realities and dangers of allowing citizens to obtain such heavy fire power.

Americans should have the right to bear arms. A shotgun, rifle, handgun. Not the same weapons we issue our Marines on the front line. We don’t allow people to drive an Abrams tank on the freeway or to park a Chinook Helicopter in their driveway... Why are we allowing military grade weapons into the hands of citizens?