Gun Safety: Community Safety and Assault Weapons
Assault Weapons: Recently I saw a TV report about a U.S. District Attorney who was shot and wounded by someone whom she had sentenced. The dark scars running up her arms startled me. The shooter had used an assault weapon with bullets that exploded after entering her body. While our constitution allows the ownership of guns, there is no reason for the private or licensed sale of assault weapons and ammunition to the general public. Gun manufacturers have a responsibility to our communities as well as to themselves and their investors. Assault weapons and ammunition that are designed to kill and injure people should not be manufactured and sold for public or private use.
Banning Assault Weapons: There has been bipartisan support for an assault weapons ban. A
ban was signed into law in 1994 and allowed to expire in 2004. Since then, attempts to pass a law have failed. Seven individual states have laws banning the sale of assault weapons: CA, CT, D.C., HI, MA, NJ and NY. There may be regulations in these states regarding the ownership of assault weapons prior to the dates when the bans went into effect.
Mass Shootings and Assault Weapons: About ten or twelve mass shootings have involved assault weapons. These are the deadliest shootings with many adults and children killed or wounded in seconds. There have been suggestions by Republicans and Democrats to ban the sale of assault weapons, completely, and buy back the ones that are already privately owned. There should be a ban on bump stocks, which allow repeated shooting of hand guns and of “armor piercing bullets, or of any bullets designed to cause unnecessary bodily damage. Such ammunition is simply torture.
Relationship of Gun Laws and Gun Related Deaths: There’s some relationship between the states with the strictest gun laws and the fewest gun related deaths. There’s also a relationship between the states with the most gun related deaths and the largest number of gun owners:
- States with fewest gun-related deaths: CT, MA, NY, HI, RI
- States with the strictest gun laws: CT, MA, NY, CA, CO, MD, NJ, D.C.
- States with most gun-related deaths: AK, AL, MT, LA, MS
- States with the most gun owners: AK, AL, MT, AR, NM, WY, WV
If you have an opinion about these issues, make sure you vote for those who agree with you. We also encourage you to speak with the elected officials in your state.
If you have an opinion about these issues, make sure you vote for those who agree with you. We also encourage you to speak with the elected officials in your state.
