Assault Weapons Ban

Should Assault Weapons Be Banned

Michael C. Koegel

XBCOM/275

May 19, 2013

Jim Brattvet

Should Assault Weapons Be Banned

From the recent shootings in Newtown, Connecticut to the many other senseless acts of violence by people with assault style weapons in recent history the question still remains; should assault style weapons be banned for sale and ownership in the United States?

September 13, 1994 the federal government passed legislation HR4296 as part of the Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act banning assault style weapons from being sold and owned by the American public. There were 19 specific firearms deemed illegal and any firearm that possesses at least three of the following features will be deemed an assault weapon. A rifle equipped with a stock that folds or has a telescopic feature, a rifle with a pistol grip, a rifle that has a bayonet mount on the stock or barrel, a rifle with a flash suppressor, or a threaded barrel that allows a bayonet to be attached, a rifle that the barrel is capable of acting as a grenade launcher, or a rifle that has a magazine that has the capacity to hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition (VanOrden). In 2004 that legislation was no longer in effect, the bill in 1994 had a 10 year limit where Congress would have to pass more legislation before that life on this bill ran out. Congress failed to act and in 2004 as long as the rifle you were purchasing was not fully automatic it was completely legal as long as you were legally able to own a firearm. In the most recent attempts to ban assault style weapons, just after the shootings of school children in Newtown, Connecticut Senator Dianne Feinstein of California whom had a part in getting the 1994 legislation passed also was the champion of trying to get this assault rifle ban legislation passed. In early 2013 Senator Feinstein admitted that the chances of the legislation passing were slim, she told Roll Call newspaper, “I tried my best, I guess, wasn’t good enough.”...