20 questions about gun control
10 Questions: What About Gun Control? How Often Do Gun Owners Actually Prevent Crimes? Even if the low-end estimates are closer to the truth, this still could mean that tens of thousands of crimes are prevented by gun owners annually. "Have Gun in Home." "The Myth of Millions of Annual Self-Defense Gun Uses." Dec. 12, 2012. The losers -- victims, survivors, witnesses and those of us who have become numb to it all -- lose lives, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and ultimately, human decency. March 3, 1989. Nah. "Teacher from Stratford shielded students." But those places tend to be developing countries where law and order is weak, or places with political unrest. Undated. When do we decide that our civility is defined by our ability to actually behave in humane manner and protect humanity? The automation of the loading, firing and reloading process, and the utilization of energy from one round to put the next one in firing position, differentiates a semi-automatic from firearms such as bolt-action rifles and revolvers. Nov. 14, 2012. "Gun Ownership Statistics and Demographics." It automatically loads ammunition from an internal or external magazine into the firing chamber, extracts and ejects the spent cartridge when a shot is fired, and then uses some of the energy of the fired shot to load another cartridge from the magazine so that the shooter can fire again. Smallarmssurvey.org. Forensic personnel examine the corpse of a police officer murdered presumably by gangsters to steal his handgun, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on Dec. 5, 2012. But gun purchases — and gun manufacturing — are both at all-time highs. Do you favor or oppose a federal law requiring background checks on all potential gun buyers? Many of the conservative pundits refer to these criminals "deranged" and "suffering from mental illness." In 2017, the latest year statistics were available, 15,129 people were killed by murder in the United States — 10,982 were by firearm [source: FBI]. I was just wondering what would be some good questions to ask? (Jan. 27, 2013) http://www.law.cornell.edu/anncon/html/amdt2_user.html#amdt2_hd2, Cook, Philip J. and Ludwig, Jens. "An interview with John R. Lott, Jr." Press.uchicago.edu. July 7, 2009. "Charles Evans Hughes." (Jan. 26, 2013) http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/15/nyregion/shooting-reported-at-connecticut-elementary-school.html?hp&_r=0, Bass, Frank. "If you think Americans are largely unmoved by the mass shootings, you should think again. National Academies Press. "Remarks from the NRA press conference on Sandy Hook school shooting, delivered on Dec. 21, 2012 (Transcript)." An October 2018 Gallup Poll found that six in 10 favor stricter gun laws, Americans want the government to pass new gun laws rather than just focusing on current laws. When do we take stock and determine that our nation's tolerating this sort of self-destruction is in fact insane, not just that these individual shooters are insane? Reasons Against Gun Control. In general, do you think laws covering the sale of guns should be made more strict, less strict, or kept as they are now? Oct. 10, 2012. (Jan. 26, 2013) http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-12-21/politics/36018141_1_mayhem-with-minimum-risk-nra-wayne-lapierre, Weatherby. 1997. But what that means is the subject of intense debate. Sciencedaily.com. Some believe that gun ownership may be decreasing because gun owners tend to be middle-aged white males, a demographic that represents a smaller segment of the population in 2013 [sources: Statistic Brain, Brennan]. Law.cornell.edu. Compared to other industrialized democracies, the U.S. gun homicide rate is through the roof. It's more than 12 times the rate in Italy, seven times that of Canada and about 30 times the gun homicide rate in Great Britain or France [source: Fox]. Does it need to go a step further? (Jan. 27, 2013) http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/finland, GunPolicy.org. Another mid-1990s study, based upon a Justice Department survey of nearly 60,000 households, came up with a much smaller estimate of about 21,500 defensive gun uses annually [source: Committee on Law and Justice]. "Defensive Gun Uses: New Evidence from a National Survey." (Jan. 27, 2013) http://www.saf.org/lawreviews/kleckandgertz1.htm, Koper, Christopher S. "Updated Assessment of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban: Impacts on Gun Markets and Gun Violence, 1994-2003." "Gun Violence in U.S. Cities Compared to the Deadliest Nations in the World." People look at thousands of handguns as hundreds of dealers sell, show and buy guns at The Nation's Gun Show at the Dulles Expo Center in Metropolitan Washington D.C. in October 2015. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services. 6. Take this example from January 2013 when a Georgia woman shot a crowbar-wielding intruder who broke into her home and confronted her and her two young children [source: CBS News]. And that takes a lot of money. ©2021 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. et al. Candles were lit in the evening by the memorial next to the Kauhajoki vocational school in Kauhajoki, Finland on Sept. 23, 2009 for those killed in the school shooting a year earlier. But this is not the only way of reducing gun violence. Burglary and assault rates were higher in Britain in 2012 than in the U.S., but homicide rates were much lower [source: Civitas Crime]. This down slightly from its record high 74 percent in 2012. Large-capacity magazines aren't permitted, and weapons must be stored in locked cabinets and unloaded if taken outside the home [source: Ministry of the Interior]. A 2009 study by Johns Hopkins University researchers found that cities in states with little regulation of gun dealers had guns passing into criminals' hands at two to four times the rate of cities in states with strict laws [source: ScienceDaily]. 1: Has American Public Opinion Shifted on Gun Control? Sciencedaily.com. (Jan. 27, 2013) http://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/03/us/ban-on-assault-rifles-takes-effect-in-los-angeles.html, Associated Press. Are gun shows illegal now? People opposed to gun control often have argued that they need firepower to protect themselves against criminals. Part of HuffPost Politics. Has American Public Opinion Shifted on Gun Control? Like Stephen Willeford, the armed citizen who stopped the massacre at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Spring, Texas in 2017 [source: CNN]. However, an article that appeared in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy pointed out that many of the "acquaintance homicides" involved, for instance, drug dealers shooting at each other. In the early 1990s, Gallup polling showed that 78 percent of Americans favored tighter gun control laws. "Finland -- Gun Facts, Figures and the Law." What will tougher laws accomplish when there are already roughly two guns in circulation for every American adult? It is important to understand the pros and cons of gun control to understand the debate. July 31, 2012. So which side is right? (Jan. 27, 2013) http://www.weatherby.com/company/pressroom/pressrelease/item/view/44079, 5 Things to Know Before You Shoot Video of a Possible Crime, Religious Freedom Acts Born Out of ... Peyote, Hotel Security Experts Warn About Learning the Wrong Lessons in Wake of Las Vegas Shooting, 2,178, with at least 2,457 killed and 9,120 wounded. Cdc.gov. And so far, probably to both sides' frustration, the courts have never fully defined the Second Amendment and its implications. In December 2012, a 20-year-old man wearing combat gear and armed with pistols and a semi-automatic rifle forced his way into a school in Newtown, Connecticut, and killed 26 people, including 20 elementary school students [source: Barron]. Congressional Research Service. Dec. 18, 2012. "Support for Stricter Gun Laws Edges Up in U.S." Gallup. Whether the government may prevent them from possessing guns is a more difficult question. "AP-GfK poll: After Conn. school shooting, nearly 6 in 10 Americans back stricter gun laws." (Jan. 25, 2013) http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6018a1.htm?s_cid=mm6018a1_w, Civitas Crime. Scores of alleged gang members and associates were arrested on federal racketeering and drug-trafficking charges in 2009. When do we decide that our civility is defined by our ability to actually behave in humane manner and protect humanity? Nov. 7, 2017 (Feb. 15, 2018) https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/05/us/texas-church-shooting-resident-action/index.html, Columbia250. 2008. "More Killings Called Self-Defense." Many Conservatives want to allow school staff to be armed. The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states the following: "A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." When guns came back into the population, there was no … Will it at least stop people from selling guns online? Gun control is a complex issue that involves crime, legislation, and the Constitution. He says that gun violence is less likely to occur in states that have gun control laws. Sadly, though nothing has changed. Is the U.S. Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost? (Jan. 26, 2013) http://ap-gfkpoll.com/uncategorized/our-latest-poll-findings-19, Saad, Lydia. Gunpolicy.org. January 2013. But Gallup data contains another important but often overlooked point. Huffingtonpost.com. (Jan. 27, 2013) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/20/deadliest-mass-shootings_n_1688820.html, Barrett, Paul. Washingtonpost.com. "The association between the purchase of a handgun and homicide or suicide." My question was, "you call this civilized?" [ 11] PRI.com. Vice President Joe Biden, in his statement said that the United States "is the only civilized country in the world with so many mass shootings." "Weapon involvement and injury outcomes in family and intimate assaults." (Jan. 30, 2012) http://www.statisticbrain.com/gun-ownership-statistics-demographics/, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). But this time, the age of the Newtown victims — coupled with heart-rending accounts of Victoria Soto, a 27-year-old teacher slain while shielding her first-grade pupils with her body — roused many Americans to demand action to prevent further gun violence [source: News Times]. The U.S. comprises 5 percent of the world's population, but owns between 35 and 50 percent of the world's civilian firearms. (Jan. 27, 2013) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1588718, ScienceDaily. (Jan. 27, 2013) http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/753058_4, Hepburn, L. et al. "How Often Do We Use Guns in Self-Defense?" Updated May 07, 2019. Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks.com article: Copyright © 2021 HowStuffWorks, a division of InfoSpace Holdings, LLC, a System1 Company. Is there a difference between owning a handgun and owning any other kind of firearm? (Jan. 26, 2013) http://www.gallup.com/poll/1645/guns.aspx, General Social Survey. Theatlanticcities.com. They also argue that citizens need weaponry to defend against criminals — and the possibility of future government tyranny. Dec. 27, 2012. (Feb. 15, 2018) http://news.gallup.com/poll/220595/support-stricter-gun-laws-edges.aspx, CBS News. Again, there's some social science to support this. "Ten Years After Columbine, It's Easier to Bear Arms." 3. It appears most of the new gun purchases appear to be by existing gun owners. My question was, "you call this civilized?" (Jan. 27, 2013) http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/13/1/15.full, Hoyert, Donna L. and Xu, Jiaquan. "Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2011." Gun Digest Books. Cnn.com. (Jan. 27, 2013) http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/12/us-gun-ownership-homicide-rate-higher-than-other-developed-countries/, Newstimes.com. Dec. 14, 2012. Oct. 20, 2009. The first such weapon was the Colt AR-15, a semi-automatic rifle clone of the military's M16, introduced to the civilian market in 1964 [source: Peterson]. More gun control laws are needed to protect women from domestic abusers and stalkers. As Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, warned at a January 2013 press conference: "When you hear your glass breaking at 3 a.m. and you call 911, you won't be able to pray hard enough for a gun in the hands of a good guy to get there fast enough to protect you" [source: Washington Post]. A sign calling for a ban on assault type weapons is held at a Los Angeles vigil after the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting on June 13, 2016 where a gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53 others. (Gun rights advocates replied that this type of weapon had been used by militia before.) Pollsters speculate this could reflect Americans' wish to keep the right of self-defense in the wake of high-profile gun violence. 3. But the justices said the government still could impose other limits — such as banning criminals and those with mentally illness from owning guns, regulating gun sales, and barring guns from schools and other places [source: Krouse]. "Analysis: Fewer U.S. (Jan. 27, 2013) http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10881&page=103, Congressional Research Service. [ 10] A woman’s risk of being murdered increases 500% if a gun is present during a domestic dispute. (Jan. 26, 2013) http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/26/us/gun-control-rally/index.html, Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Five women are murdered with guns every day in the United States. U.S. gun policy is a complex and difficult issue characterized roughly by its two diametrical sides: the pro-gun (or gun rights) camp, which argues that guns are a constitutionally protected social necessity, and the anti-gun (or gun control) camp, which asserts that guns are a fundamentally unsafe and extremely costly means to facilitate a variety of social ills. June 10, 1992. ASFP. Collect feedback on people's opinions on firearm possession: To understand from people's perspective whether they need guns for self-defense, home security systems, or it increases the crime rate. Journal of Law and Criminology. This shooter and others have targeted Christians before shooting them. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in 2017 there were an estimated 393 million guns in the U.S., including 114 million handguns, 110 million rifles and 86 million shotguns [source: Karp]. 3: Did the Federal Ban on Assault Weapons Affect Crime? The U.S. has a lot of guns — so many, in fact, that there's nearly one firearm for every person who lives in the country. "Risks and Benefits of a Gun in the Home." 2: Do States With Strict Gun Control Laws Have Less Gun Violence? http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/homicide.html, University of Chicago Press. 2006. Self-defense efficiency. Gun Homicide Rate Really That High? Newstimes.com. 2007. Would the crime rate in the U.S. be lower if there were fewer guns available? We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. Those who are pro-gun fiercely claim their right to bear arms. (Jan. 27, 2013) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1380933/, FBI. April 2, 2012. As I read and watch the coverage of yet another school shooting, another mass murder of innocent Americans, another loss of human life, I am struggling with so many questions. Realclearpolitics.com. 5 questions to ask about gun control Posted 11/11/2017 12:01 AM To Congress and the president, it's time to act on the epidemic of gun violence sweeping America. Gun Owners Own More Guns." How don't they see the hypocrisy? But social scientist Richard Florida, who has analyzed crime and demographic data, has found a strong correlation between lower firearm deaths and tighter gun restrictions, such as bans on assault weapons and requirements for trigger locks and safe storage of guns. Dec. 21, 2012. Do countries with stricter gun laws really have less crime or fewer homicides? Yet he could have used a very similar Colt Match Target rifle that would not have fallen under the ban [source: Plumer]. Explain why people need guns to protect themselves. 2. Cdc.gov. April 20, 1999 . But both those countries have stricter gun control laws than the U.S. We'd like to get the community's input on some questions before we go. Weatherby.com. When do we take stock and determine that our nation's tolerating this sort of self-destruction is in fact insane, not just that these individual shooters are insane? "Gun Control Legislation." Students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School holding a sign that says "remember these people." The winners win money and political points. But even so, Finland suffered mass shootings at schools in 2007 and 2008, in which gunmen killed a total of 18 people [source: Associated Press]. Go nuts. Global Study on Homicide (by any weapon) put the British homicide rate at 1.2 per 100,000 while the U.S. rate was 4.6 per 100,000 [source: UNODC]. Statements made against gun control that are commonly put forward are given in this article. In 2015, more than 9.3 million firearms were manufactured globally, and about half of those are bought by people who live in the U.S. [source: ATF]. This debate over policy is a game with life or death consequences -- in fact, not a game at all. Abcnews.com. After the shooting there she began encouraging members of the gay community to take up arms after recent hate crimes. "The Source States for Crime Guns: Virginia." (Jan. 26, 2013) http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57562397-504083/georgia-mother-hides-children-shoots-intruder-5-times-during-home-invasion-police-say/, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If the politician favors gun control: 1. There is some social science to back up that thesis. (Jan. 26, 2013) http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-31/u-s-on-pace-for-slowest-decade-of-population-growth-since-1930s.html, Brennan, Allison. And Mexico and South Africa also had higher murder rates than the U.S. in 2017. Here's what we have so far. Why do gun accidents occur? Including the economic side of the issue. Cato.org. "US Gun Homicide Rate Higher Than Other Developed Countries." And yet, people... 2.What do you say to those who argue that Virginia Tech had already implemented several gun … Perhaps the most often-cited evidence is a 1995 study by Northwestern University School of Law researchers Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz. (Jan. 25, 2013) http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr61/nvsr61_06.pdf, Johnson, Brian R. "Crucial Elements of Police Firearms Training." "Limbaugh: The Term "Assault Rifle" Is A "Political Invention." "Georgia mother hides children, shoots intruder 5 times during home invasion, police say." How do these very same people protect so fiercely the lives of an embryo while sacrificing the lives of kindergarten children, college students, teachers, those working at the Washington Naval Yard and those enjoying a movie? “Let students pose questions, hear their conclusions, and give them the opportunity to express themselves.” Teachers can contribute to students’ thinking by asking probing questions and encouraging students to use evidence to support their opinions. There are few topics more controversial than gun control. (Jan. 27, 2013) http://books.google.com/books?id=mwvu-am3wbcC&pg=PA63&dq=semiautomatic+weapon&hl=en&sa=X&ei=eLsFUfmmC6-C0QHwkoDoDQ&ved=0CGUQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=semiautomatic%20weapon&f=false, Keng Kuek Ser, Kuang. (Jan. 27, 2013) http://www3.norc.org/GSS+Website/Browse+GSS+Variables/Subject+Index/, GunPolicy.org. American Journal of Public Health. As with gun shows, it only requires that online gun sellers be licensed. This works out to about 1 percent use of a gun for defensive purposes [source: Kleck and Gertz]. Well, what about the victims' "inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," as determined by our Declaration of Independence? Cbsnews.com. Instead, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued a series of rulings that mostly have upheld the government's authority to impose restrictions upon weapons. 7: Are There Countries With as Many Guns as the U.S. but Less Crime? How easy is it to buy a gun in your society? (Jan. 25, 2013) http://www.newstimes.com/local/article/Teacher-from-Stratford-shielded-students-4120759.php, Palazzolo, Joe and Barry, Rob. In Finland, a nation where most use guns for hunting rather than protection, citizens must obtain gun licenses, which must be renewed every five years. Police deny or revoke permission if an applicant is convicted of a crime — or shows any sort of behavior that authorities think might indicate that he or she wouldn't be safe owning a gun. One big risk is that having a gun within easy reach can escalate an argument or fight into a homicide. Gun Control Position: True, but the key words of the 2nd Amendment are ‘a well regulated Militia,’ which give us context for the meaning of the right to bear arms. So here's my last question: Why is this even a question? "The Geography of Gun Deaths." You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website. For example, in the 1937 case U.S. v. Miller, a court upheld a federal statute requiring licensing of sawed-off shotguns, saying that some types of weaponry weren't needed by a militia and thus weren't constitutionally protected. It takes a lot of legal maneuvering to free an innocent person from prison. (Jan. 27, 2013) http://home.uchicago.edu/~ludwigj/papers/JQC-CookLudwig-DefensiveGunUses-1998.pdf, Cornell University Legal Information Institute. Field Work: 6/20/97 to 9/10/97. "Ban on Assault Rifles Takes Effect in Los Angeles." Wait, no, bad choice of words. They also must state the reason they wish to have a gun — and self-defense is not a valid reason [source: Finnish Police]. Everytown For Gun Safety, an organization lobbying for stricter gun legislation, points out that 27.2 percent of guns purchased in Virginia (a state with lax gun control laws) are recovered after being used in a crime within two years of the original sale, which is almost five points higher than the national average, and according to the mayors' group, a strong indication of gun trafficking to criminals [source: Trace the Guns]. Undated. The costs of gun control. Gun Homicide Rate Really That High? July 2004. He'd had to bind up his own arm in a battlefield tourniquet, which enabled him to escape having it amputated. In an October 2018 Gallup poll, for example, 43 percent of Americans said they had a gun in their homes [source: Gallup]. (Jan. 27, 2013) http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-12-27/how-often-do-we-use-guns-in-self-defense, Barron, James. Finland, which has 69 guns per 100 people, and Switzerland, which has 61 per 100 people [source: Small Arms Survey]. The executive action only requires that all gun vendors be licensed. The law also banned magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds but exempted weapons manufactured before 1994. This was up from 51 percent in Gallup's previous poll in 2017.. Any help would be great. Facts about Gun Control 1: The advantages of gun control. Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost's next chapter. Are There Countries With as Many Guns as the U.S. but Less Crime? Many guns, including AR-15s, sit on display ready for sale at Ready Gunman on June 17, 2016 in Springville, Utah. (Jan. 27 2013) http://www.theatlanticcities.com/politics/2013/01/gun-violence-us-cities-compared-deadliest-nations-world/4412/, Fox, Kara. With my role I have to find questions to ask the "Experts." I still have a vivid picture in my mind of what a bullet can do to a person's body. Here’s how. The U.S. isn't the country with the most gun murders, by any stretch — that would be South American nation of Brazil, which had more than 63,000 murders in 2017. In fact, the number of Americans who own guns seems to be on the decline; Gallup, for example, found that the percentage who had guns in 2012 was 8 percent lower than in the mid-1990s. Gun control opponents say that a vast number of crimes are prevented by armed citizens, who either shoot an assailant — an event that happened 326 times in 2010, according to a 2012 Wall Street Journal state-by-state analysis of crime statistics — or more often, chase the would-be criminal away by brandishing a weapon [source: Palazzolo and Barry]. How efficient do you think they are? According to the textbook "Crucial Elements of Police Firearm Training," a semi-automatic firearm has a mechanism that automates most of the process of shooting. Their school was shot up by a gunman on Feb. 14, 2018 in Parkland, Florida and 17 people were killed. (Jan. 27, 2013) http://www.stat.duke.edu/~dalene/chance/chanceweb/103.myth0.pdf, Hemenway, David. That's why the Innocence Project is so critical to help free the wrongly convicted. "Nation Reels After Gunman Massacres 20 Children at School in Connecticut." Calculate how much gun control policies are worth in your state. Second Amendment activist Joseph Gabriele of Littleton, Colo. gathers with other activists in support of gun ownership in Denver, 2013. Jan. 13, 2011. But in the wake of the Newtown massacre, a December 2012 Gallup poll found a sharp rebound in support, with 58 percent favoring tougher gun statutes, compared to just 34 percent who said they wanted laws to remain the same [source: Saad]. Sep. 30, 2009 (Jan. 27, 2013) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090930121512.htm, ScienceDaily. Critics of gun control often point to places such as the District of Columbia, which has a high rate of gun crimes despite strict gun control laws [source: Liptak]. Why do we accept this sort of terrorism? 2004. Thanks! 2011. Additionally, manufacturers were able to get around the ban by redesigning weapons and making a few changes to remove the military-style features [source: Peterson]. But except for my toy pistols, we didn't have any guns in our home, because my father, who wasn't a hunter, didn't want them around. Most Americans who die from gun violence in their own homes actually inflict it upon themselves: Nearly 45,000 people commit suicide every year in the United States and in 2016, more than half (51 percent) used a firearm [source: ASFP]. Facts about Gun Control 2: Gun laws in the United States (Jan. 27, 2013). Finlex.fi. Can I still buy extended magazines? At Columbine High School near Denver, students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shoot and kill 12 other students and a teacher, and wound 24 others before killing themselves. Do States With Strict Gun Control Laws Have Less Gun Violence? 2) Can we get better data on the victims of gun violence? (Jan. 31, 2013) http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1891416,00.html, O'Keefe, Ed. Some, such as economist and author John R. Lott Jr., argued that the answer to stopping gun violence was for more citizens to be armed [source: University of Chicago Press]. Jan. 22, 2013. And why don't they see that the proliferation of firearms (and gun manufacturers' profits) is directly linked and correlated with the incidence of mass shootings? (Jan. 31, 2014) https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/204431.pdf, Krouse, William J. The U.N. This is the point that gun control proponents often cite to counter arguments that guns deter crime. Did the Federal Ban on Assault Weapons Affect Crime? Dec. 17, 2012. Do you feel guns are good or bad? After nearly every instance of gun violence, talk of new gun control measures heats up. Here are the questions Americans are asking about gun control … Undated. (Jan. 26, 2013) http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL32842.pdf, Limbaugh, Rush. (Jan. 26, 2013) http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/493636.html, Washington Post. Wrong. Gallup.com. This already huge privately held arsenal is growing at a very fast rate. Gunpolicy.org. Gun rights advocates often say that semi-automatic firearms should not be considered "assault weapons" because they are not fully capable of "spraying" automatically. In truth, however, the majority of Americans still are unarmed. That event followed two other mass killings in 2012 a July attack on an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater in which a gunman killed 12 people and wounded 58 more, and an August assault on a Sikh templ… In turn, the requirement that a shooter repeatedly depress the trigger again for each shot differentiates a semi-automatic from a fully automatic weapon such as a machine gun. Whether that rate seems high to you depends upon your perspective. 2. (Jan. 27, 2013) http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2007/en/full/Small-Arms-Survey-2007-Chapter-02-EN.pdf, StatisticBrain. Ap-gfkpoll.com. Chance. That event followed two other mass killings in 2012 — a July attack on an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater in which a gunman killed 12 people and wounded 58 more, and an August assault on a Sikh temple in Milwaukee in which six worshippers were shot to death and three others wounded [source: Krouse]. President Obama said that the shooter was "sick." In that same 2018 Gallup Poll, 57 percent of Americans said they opposed banning semi-automatic guns, while 40 percent said they favored a ban. "U.S. on Pace for Slowest Decade of Population Growth Since 1930s." (Jan. 31, 2013) http://www.civitas.org.uk/crime/crime_stats_oecdjan2012.pdf, CNN. "Lawmakers unveil new assault weapons ban." That sort of weapon will continue to fire, as long as the shooter's finger is on the trigger, until it runs out of ammunition [source: Johnson]. Jim Scoutten answers your gun-related questions on Shooting USA.com - The shooting and gun sport television show featuring the shooting sports, championships, pro tips and in-depth Sighting In stories. (Jan. 27, 2013) http://c250.columbia.edu/c250_celebrates/remarkable_columbians/charles_hughes.html, Committee on Law and Justice.