In the last decade or so, the battle over the second amendment has intensified. The prominence of mass shootings in the news has brought the issue to the forefront. It is perhaps the most hotly debated issue of the time.
On the one hand, we have pro second amendment Americans who don’t want the Constitution be trampled on. On the other, we have citizens concerned that the ease of access to weapons of war is only making it easier for mass shootings to occur.
Recently, during the Democratic primary debates, we have even heard calls for the government to issue mandatory buy-backs of the before-mentioned weapons of war. Of course, as is with anything mandatory, the citizens wouldn’t have a choice in selling their weapons.
So the question then becomes, does the government have a right to confiscate assault weapons and other weapons of war in an effort to stop these mass shootings?
Or, would that be taking it a step too far and trampling on the second amendment and ultimately the United States Constitution?
Below, you’ll find arguments for both sides taken from Debate.org, but ultimately as American citizens it’s your choice to decide!
Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll above.
The Pro Banning Argument:
Assault weapons should undoubtedly be banned for the good of the American people. The simplest reason being that assault weapons are not necessary for gun ownership. People own weapons for recreation, defense, and hunting. Assault weapons are obviously not needed for hunting and recreation, so let’s elaborate on why you don’t need them for defense. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, you are four times more likely to be shot in a gun assault with a gun visible on your body. With assault weapons, the gun is always visible on your body, so you are always in danger in public with one. At your house, you can obviously use a shotgun or gun of some other sort making assault weapons totally superfluous to gun ownership. Something that is apart of any amount of gun violence that can be removed without disturbing gun ownership should be removed for safety and tranquility.
The Anti Banning Argument:
The problem with banning semiautomatic, high-capacity rifles is that it clears the path for even more gun control laws. It has been said, “The best way to take control over a people and control them utterly is to take a little of their freedom at a time, to erode rights by a thousand tiny and almost imperceptible reductions. In this way, the people will not see those rights and freedoms being removed until past the point at which these changes cannot be reversed.” This is exactly what is happening to the second amendment. Next, all semiautomatic guns will be banned. We need these guns to not only protect ourselves from criminals, but from the government as well. It is possible that at some point evil powers will enter our political system. For this reason, the people must be armed equally to the state. George Washington said, “A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government.” For this reason, the right to own assault rifles should not be taken from us.