Essay Example on As years go by danger becomes more and more apparent in America

Although the ones in favor of banning assault weapons claim that people do not need them for safety there are many cases in which assault weapons do help in personal protection First we must consider that the justification of owning an assault weapon in the current time would be the same reason that the founding fathers included the second amendment at all It was to guarantee safety against the rise of government tyranny or anarchy and provide self defense in times of need During the LA riots Korean Americans who defended their stores could not have done so without the help of assault weapons In an interview with Los Angeles Times Jay Rhee a Korean American caught in the middle of the LA Riots said he and others fired 500 shots into the ground and air with a burst of gunfire that littered the parking lot with empty cartridges They frightened off a second and a third carload of shooters Other less powerful single shot weapons most likely would not have fended off the LA Riot shooters during all the chaos and mayhem They are visibly weaker and quieter than assault weapons and would run out of bullets much faster in comparison Assault weapons also do not make up much of America s gun deaths It only accounts for about 2 percent of the the total gun deaths and less than one percent of the total gun injuries in 2016 Gun Violence Archive In fact excessive restrictive gun laws has actually proven to increase the gun murder rate The academic journal Applied Economics Letters written by Quinnipiac University s professor Mark Gius states in a study from 1980 to 2009 that the assault weapons bans did not significantly affect murder rates at the state level and finding data indicating that gun related murder rates were 19 3 higher when the federal ban was in effect Gius This means that the federal assault weapon ban in 1994 really did the opposite of its intention giving further proof that assault weapons are more helpful than harmful Another huge positive of assault weapons is the economic benefits it provides us The National Shooting Sports Foundation 

NSSF calculated that in 2016 the firearms and ammunition industry was responsible for as much as 51 3 billion in total economic activity in the country They also reported companies in the United States that manufacture distribute and sell firearms ammunition and hunting equipment employ as many as 141 500 people in the country and generate an additional 159 623 jobs in supplier and ancillary industries the jobs pay an average of 50 423 in wages and benefits With a new assault weapons ban in place it could mean a loss of jobs for more than 300 000 people worsening our already grim economic state Some of the people against assault weapons claim that the medical costs and unseen consequences related to assault weapons would make this argument invalid but they have to remember that assault weapons make up very little of these results Most of these injuries come from single shot rifles or handguns which are protected under second amendment Ultimately it is clear that the two positions want the same thing to better the American life and to make it a safer place for everyone Despite the differing point of views on how assault weapons should be treated I still believe that a ban on them is unjust and unconstitutional There are many other ways to prevent these unpredictable disasters from occurring such as increasing the funding for police protection or more support in the mental health field but banning assault weapons is not the way to go