Why Must Assault Weapons Not Be Banned? Argumentative Essay Examples

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Introduction

A majority of the modern-day American citizens today possess private firearms. Due to the excessive number of such unregistered weapons, the controversy over gun ownership has turned out to be a hot debate in the contemporary America. As far as the opponents of gun ownership are concerned, they persistently demand the authorities to put a ban on the ownership of firearms. In the recent years, President Obama and his administration have demonstrated a forceful approach to ban assault weapons in particular (Eilperin). Similarly, advocates of gun control claim the banning of assault weapons necessary for avoidance of life loss. On the other hand, the supporters of gun possession declare such an ownership to be a basic right of all American citizens. As a law-abiding citizen, I consider that the ownership of a gun is the right of every American citizen under the Second Amendment. In my opinion, assault guns must not be banned as they are meant to protect people against offenders and criminals.

It is extremely important to first identify the assault weapons to understand whether they should be banned or not. According to a standard definition proposed by congressional researchers, an assault weapon has distinctive characteristics including a “compact design, a barrel less than twenty inches in length, extensive use of stampings and plastics in its construction, lighter in weight (six to ten pounds), a pistol grip or thumbhole stock, a folding or telescoping grip, a barrel shroud, a threaded barrel for adding a silencer or flash suppressor, and the ability to receive a large clip that holds twenty to thirty bullets” (as qt in Carter 74-75). It is worth-mentioning that the United States has been severely strict in controlling the civilian ownership of assault weapons since the first half of the twentieth century. Although it is true that assault weapons cause deaths and severe physical injuries; it is also a fact that such deaths constitute a small percentage of the overall deaths due to firearms. For the same reason, banning assault weapons seems to be a ridiculous idea as putting a ban on a particular kind of weapons would not address the matter in a satisfactory manner.
The opponents of assault weapons need to consider the reality that any firearm can be used to kill a person; not just an assault weapon.
Most importantly, the ban on assault weapon is a direct violation of the Second Amendment that grants American people the right of keeping and bearing arms. The same Amendment considers banning gun ownership to be an infringement of the law. As the law does not clearly mention the types of firearms a citizen can bear, it is correct to consider the ban on assault weapons a breach of the law. In addition, District of Columbia v. Heller ruling also provided a clear reaffirmation concerning the protection of an individual’s personal right to own firearms (Schultz 200). It needs to be understood that the Second Amendment did not merely aim to support hunting and self-protection. It was designed for protecting the right of the common man to safeguard him from oppression, foreign incursion, and rebellion. Even if hunting and self-defense are accepted as the only lawful justifications to possess a gun, how could the state decide what weapons could be carried for the hunting or defending oneself against any possible harm?
Furthermore, a study conducted after the ban on assault weapons in 1994 stated that “the assault weapons ban can have only a limited effect on total gun murders, because the banned weapons and magazines were never involved in more than a modest fraction of all gun murders" (as qt in Bell). This conclusion is additionally substantiated by the FBI information that murders occur more commonly when the murdered use bare hands, blunt objects, and knives as with any kinds of assault weapons (Bell). In addition, there is no justification of banning a certain weapon kind whose usage is not even common in most violent occurrences. Currently, the gun violence is on a decline in the United States and assault weapons’ usage evidence is found in less than one percent of the overall crime incidents. Therefore, when evidence proves that most crimes are not committed by utilizing assault weapons then there is no reasonable excuse to ban them.
Moreover, it is an illogical decision to outlaw the usage of assault weapons while making it permissible to use other weapons on the streets. It must not be forgotten that people do not only use assault weapons to inflict physical harm or kill others. In actual fact, banning assault weapons is incoherent as a lot of people in the United States of America already possess registered assault weapons. Therefore, putting a ban on this particular category of firearms would not stop millions of people from using assault weapons considering their registered status. It must be remembered that there is certainly a minor distinction between a regular shotgun and an assault weapon. However, a new and old assault weapon can never be differentiated. Another reason banning assaulted weapons is not a great idea is that the Assault Weapons Ban usually targets firearms on the basis of their outward cosmetic features. If truth is told, only a small number of weapons are targeted by the original ban considering their exterior accessories that do not have anything to do with the operations of the weapons (in most cases).
I am also against the ban on assaulted weapons as such bans have the propensity of facilitating a black market creation.
If assault weapons are banned, the black market would nurture by providing the banned firearms to those interested in committing crimes using such weapons. If seen from another perspective, assault weapon ban would ultimately mean easy accessibility of such weapons for the ill-minded people. On the other hand, people wanting to use assault weapons for the purpose of self-defense and protection would have no easy accessibility. As Obama’s administration has shown an aggressive stance over gun control, many criminals and gun possessors are already buying such weapons and bullets in case Obama is reelected and a ban is forced. As a matter of fact, it is rather obvious that the disallowance of assault weapons would bring modest changes for reducing the assault weapons’ number in the United States. In the similar fashion, such an unreasonable ban would probably do even lesser to impact the availability of assault weapons.
Conclusion

Works Cited

Bell, L. "Senator Feinstein's All-Out Assault On Gun Rights." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 1 June 2013. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/larrybell/2013/01/06/senator-feinsteins-all-out-assault-on-gun-rights/>.
Carter, Gregg Lee. Gun Control in the United States: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2006. Print.
Eilperin, J. "President Obama Supports the Assault Weapons Ban — to a Point." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2013. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/03/14/president-obama-supports-the-assault-weapons-ban-to-a-point/>.
Schultz, David A. Encyclopedia of the United States Constitution. New York, NY: Facts On File, 2009. Print.