Blade_Runner wrote:
The handgun is by far "the most popular mass k*****g tool".
In less than 3% of all mass shootings is a rifle of any type used.
Gun manufacturers do not pitch their sales of firearms based on a political definition of any particular type of gun.
The AR15, for example, has been used far more often in defense of life and property than it has in the commission of a crime.
https://giffords.org/lawcenter/gun-laws/policy-areas/hardware-ammunition/assault-weapons/Assault weapons with large-capacity magazines have become the weapon of choice for assailants seeking to perpetrate mass casualty attacks for a reason. These uniquely dangerous firearms are equipped with features that facilitate mass shootings, and must be regulated accordingly.
Background
Summary of Federal Law
Summary of State Law
Key Legislative Elements
Assault weapons, especially assault rifles, are typically semiautomatic versions of weapons created for deadly battlefield purposes. They are designed and equipped with features that enable mass k*****g, including sustained, high-volume rapid fire shooting at large numbers of people in a short period of time. The availability of unusually dangerous weaponry like assault weapons and large-capacity magazines has fueled an alarming increase in high casualty mass shootings across the nation. Perpetrators of many of the deadliest shootings in modern American history—including in Las Vegas, Orlando, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Sutherland Springs, El Paso, Robb Elementary School, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Aurora, and Dayton—used assault weapons equipped with large-capacity magazines. These unusually dangerous weapons also expose law enforcement officers to heightened risk from gunmen wielding increasingly high-powered combat grade weapons on civilian streets.
I doubt your
stats... while I do agree the handgun is the most poplular gun for criminal of any sort.. the mass k**lers want the most k*****g in the shortest time.. And that demands the right tool for the job, so the choice is clear, the assault style is the go to gun..
ssault weapons are typically a subset of semi-automatic firearms with features designed to enable shooters to repeatedly fire at large numbers of people quickly. They are a relatively new class of weapon—during the 1980s, the gun industry sought to reverse a decline in consumer demand for guns by developing and marketing new types of weapons based on high-powered military designs.1 Between 1994 and 2004, a relatively narrow federal assault weapons law placed some restrictions on the sale and manufacture of some “semiautomatic assault weapons.” This federal law expired in 2004. Though the US House of Representatives passed legislation in 2022 to renew and strengthen this assault weapons law, that legislation has not passed the US Senate and there is currently no federal law restricting the sale, manufacture, or possession of assault weapons.
Wounds caused by assault weapons are more severe and lethal than wounds caused by other firearms, and, particularly when paired with large capacity magazines, assault weapons can injure more people more quickly.
Assault weapons have been used in the seven deadliest mass shootings in the last decade.
An analysis of public mass shootings resulting in four or more deaths found that more than 85% of such fatalities were caused by assault rifles.2
An assailant with an assault rifle is able to hurt and k**l twice the number of people compared to an assailant with a non-assault rifle or handgun.3