Arguing a Position Essay: Banning Assault Weapons and Large Capacity Magazines
The issue of banning assault weapons and large capacity magazines has been debated for years, but has never been discussed with such urgency as it is now. The issue is the banning of assault weapons in our society. Are we the kind of country that allows and encourages its citizens to own weapons of mass destruction? The moral issue we face is banning ownership of these weapons to ordinary citizens while protecting their rights under the second amendment of our Constitution. Considering the bloodshed and death that assault weapons cause in the hands of citizens and criminals, it seems to me that assault weapons do not have a place in our homes and society. It is important that the Congress of the United States pass a federal law banning the manufacture, sale and importing of this kind of weapon and large capacity ammunition magazines to people who are not part of our Armed Services or Law Enforcement agencies.
The first question that has to be answered is, “Is this a real societal problem that can be supported by evidence?” We hear about all the horrible incidents of mass killings in schools, movie theaters, restaurants, post-offices and on our streets, but is it a real problem or a media made up problem? By going to non-partisan non-profit organizations that have researched this issue, I believe there is plenty of evidence to support the claim that assault weapons continue to cause mass deaths in our country. According to the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City, “Mass shootings are a unique feature of American life which has occurred consistently throughout history in every region of the country” (1). Their database gives a list of significant mass shooting incidents in America and all of them used weapons with large capacity ammunition magazines. By the way, the FBI definition of mass shootings is four or more victims were killed. Of the 30 major incidents highlighted,...