Assault Weapons Ban is Urgently Needed

Photo by Colin Lloyd on Unsplash

It is well past time for our nation to permanently ban the sale of semi-automatic assault weapons and large capacity ammunition devices. These steps are urgently needed in order to put our country back on a sane road to public safety.

So far, 2022 has seen more than 600 mass shootings. These shootings are made so much more tragic due to the involvement of weapons of war, whose sole purpose is to kill as many people as possible in the shortest possible time.

Following the Uvalde, Texas shootings, the 2022 Assault Weapons Ban was proposed. Like the 1994 law that a Republican-controlled Congress allowed to expire after 10 years, this proposal will make it illegal to import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a “semi-automatic assault weapon” or “large capacity ammunition feeding device.” The bill precisely defines assault weapons and would be a large step toward ensuring public safety in our schools and other public places.

Passage of this bill would not take away anyone’s guns. Simply stated: “no laws can retroactively make something illegal that was legal before the law was passed.” That does not mean, however, that Congress could not reduce their numbers by using an aggressive buy-back policy, along with the ban on new purchases.

Personally, I do not believe there is any rational reason for ownership of assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition devices. People who wish to own guns for protection of their property and family should be able to do so, but no one should be allowed to purchase weapons of war! Use of these weapons in public spaces has led to death and serious injury for far too many people.

Let’s agree to leave the possession and use of semi-automatic assault weapons to the military and law enforcement. The safety of our nation demands passage of the Assault Weapons ban!

Ed Shaffer

Galien