To What Extent Should Assault Weapons Be Banned In The United States

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The production, sale, and possession of assault weapons for private citizens should be banned in the U.S. The ban would reduce the chances of mass shootings in public places and even schools. There was a ban on assault rifles passed in 1994, but Congress failed to renew it and then was dropped in 10 years. Overall, 57% of Congress strongly agrees to the ban of assault weapons, including Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. Some people feel, though, that the ban of assault weapons would cause there to be even more mass shooting because they won’t affect the outlaws, anyway.

There have been countless mass shootings in the previous years dealing with semi-automatic and automatic rifles. In fact, the worst mass shooting in US history just happened in October 2017 in the Las Vegas Strip when Stephen Paddock took 23 of his 35 weapons with him into his Mandalay Bay hotel room, and 12 had bump stocks which gave him automatic capabilities. He rained down bullets on a 22,000 people crowd for about 2 minutes, killing 58 and injuring 527 people. We also know mass shootings don't just happen in public events, they happen at schools too. Schools are supposed to be a safe environment where a child can go to learn. This mass shooting provides an example of what happens when weapons like these assault rifles get into the wrong hands.
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Also, over 90 of every 100 residents in the US have a firearm in their household and that 40% claim to use it to protect themselves. The temporary ban that lasted from 1994 to 2004 was very helpful. It helped reduce crime by 32% in major crime cities. Unfortunately, the law didn’t get renewed and had to be dropped which made things even