The Banning of Assault Weapons
Assault Weapons Ban
After reading Jimmy Carter 's essay on assault weapons, I have come to an agreement with his position that the government should reinstate a ban on assault weapons. Americans do not need to be in possession of semiautomatic assault weapons like AK-47, AR-15,and Uzis. There is rarely a necessity for the average American to even use or own them. Part of the reason why we don’t need assault weapons is largely due to our proficient law enforcement. In the U.S, people can walk outside and not have to worry about getting shot and killed, people don’t have to constantly be watching their backs. On the other hand, in most Latin American country’s such as Honduras, the people have to always be alert and aware because the law enforcement is very inadequate. In Honduras, being held at gunpoint is practically the norm. The U.S. Law enforcement encourages an environment for ordinary citizens to roam freely without having to carry weapons. The banning of assault weapons would benefit society. It would decrease the possibilities of large massacres from occurring and the total death toll as well. Mass shootings like the one in columbine high school, Colorado and Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut which involved the use of assault weapons, could have ether been prevented or less severe. The purpose of an assault weapon is not to defend but to eradicate. I can understand why Wheeler thinks that its pointless to put a ban on assault weapons because the National Institute of Justice noted that less than eight percent of all gun crimes committed in the United States involved assault weapons. The actual gun of choice for a criminal is a handgun because its very easy to conceal when committing a crime. Also the news have been misrepresenting assault weapons as machine guns, showing numerous videos of crimes being committed with assault weapons when its actually machine guns (machine guns are not assault weapons).
Wheeler
After reading Jimmy Carter 's essay on assault weapons, I have come to an agreement with his position that the government should reinstate a ban on assault weapons. Americans do not need to be in possession of semiautomatic assault weapons like AK-47, AR-15,and Uzis. There is rarely a necessity for the average American to even use or own them. Part of the reason why we don’t need assault weapons is largely due to our proficient law enforcement. In the U.S, people can walk outside and not have to worry about getting shot and killed, people don’t have to constantly be watching their backs. On the other hand, in most Latin American country’s such as Honduras, the people have to always be alert and aware because the law enforcement is very inadequate. In Honduras, being held at gunpoint is practically the norm. The U.S. Law enforcement encourages an environment for ordinary citizens to roam freely without having to carry weapons. The banning of assault weapons would benefit society. It would decrease the possibilities of large massacres from occurring and the total death toll as well. Mass shootings like the one in columbine high school, Colorado and Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut which involved the use of assault weapons, could have ether been prevented or less severe. The purpose of an assault weapon is not to defend but to eradicate. I can understand why Wheeler thinks that its pointless to put a ban on assault weapons because the National Institute of Justice noted that less than eight percent of all gun crimes committed in the United States involved assault weapons. The actual gun of choice for a criminal is a handgun because its very easy to conceal when committing a crime. Also the news have been misrepresenting assault weapons as machine guns, showing numerous videos of crimes being committed with assault weapons when its actually machine guns (machine guns are not assault weapons).
Wheeler
References: Wang, Sam. "Princeton Election Consortium." Princeton Election Consortium RSS. Princeton Election Consortium, 14 Dec. 2012. Web. 01 Feb. 2013 "Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting: What Happened?" CNN. Cable News Network, 2013. Web. 01 Feb. 2013.