Trevor Haepp Christopher Baxter POSC 220 12/01/2022 AR-15 Regulations Throughout the list of ongoing political issues, gun regulation is prevalent in our society due to acts of gun violence throughout the country. The United States cannot enforce a ban on all firearms; however, a ban on semi-automatic rifles could be a suitable compromise to the controversy. Due to the bullet's velocity when entering a human body, a wound from a semi-automatic rifle will leave only “shreds of the organ” (Sher 2018). With this being said, the sale of semi-automatic rifles is dangerous to the entire country because of the extreme damage a single misfired bullet can cause. While some people would argue that handguns are the most common weapons used in public shootings(Published by Statista Research Department), they are also the least dangerous in the sense that anyone well-versed in firearms would prefer to be shot by a lower velocity-firing handgun than catch a bullet from an AR-15 or other higher-velocity rifle. This isn’t to say that we should ban all high-velocity firearms. Hunting rifles are one exception to this rule. They have higher velocities than other firearms and could absolutely be used with misanthropic intentions, but the difference between this and a high-capacity rifle is the magazine size. Although some would like to also ban semi-automatic handguns, they actually pose much less of a threat when they are used in mass shootings. This is why semi-automatic rifles are the weapon of choice for people who wish to commit an act of mass violence. A bullet that has been shot out of a handgun travels at a lower velocity than that of a semi-automatic rifle. With this being said, the wound from a handgun is less fatal than that of a semi-automatic rifle in the same area. The Uvalde shooter was alleged to have over 1,600 high-velocity rounds (Osborne, 2022). Many of these rounds were fired from legally-obtained AR-like weapons. President Biden responded by saying,” The idea that an 18-year-old could walk into a store and buy weapons of war designed and marketed to kill is, I think, just wrong. It just violates common sense,” (Biden 2022). The magazine size of the AR-15 and similar legal weapons are perfect for deranged people looking to kill a crowd of people. The standard 30-round magazine is what sets this type of weapon apart from a basic hunting rifle or handgun. All evidence above points to a simple conclusion: Semi-automatic rifles should not be sold or distributed in the United States. The extreme damage caused by one bullet outranks any semi-automatic handgun available. There is no need for any one person to own a gun that could quickly end the life of a group of people. Semi-automatic rifles leave no time for the victims to receive hospital care for their wounds which decreases their chances of survival significantly, and they give the user the capacity to mow down crowds of people with ease. To conclude, in order to prevent more acts of mass gun violence the United States should put a ban on all semi-automatic rifles. Osborne, Author: Ryan. “By the Numbers: How Many Rounds the Uvalde Shooter Fired, and How Much Police Fired at Him.” Wfaa.com, 27 May 2022, https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/special-reports/uvalde-scho ol-shooting/texas-elementary-school-shooting-salvador-ramos-by -the-numbers-how-many-rounds-the-uvalde-shooter-fired-and-ho w-much-police-fired-at-him/287-c9c90472-7a0c-4f7b-9cd5-69b c365633fe. Oxner, Reese. “Uvalde Gunman Legally Bought AR Rifles Days before Shooting, Law Enforcement Says.” The Texas Tribune, The Texas Tribune, 25 May 2022, https://www.texastribune.org/2022/05/25/uvalde-shooter-boug ht-gun-legally/. Published by Statista Research Department, and Nov 24. “Guns Used in Mass Shootings U.S. 2022.” Statista, 24 Nov. 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/476409/mass-shootings-inthe-us-by-weapon-types-used/. “Remarks by President Biden and Vice President Harris at Signing of Executive Order to Advance Effective, Accountable Policing and Strengthen Public Safety.” The White House, The United States Government, 26 May 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2 022/05/25/remarks-by-president-biden-and-vice-president-harr is-at-signing-of-executive-order-to-advance-effective-accountab le-policing-and-strengthen-public-safety/. Sher, Heather. “What I Saw Treating the Victims from Parkland Should Change the Debate on Guns.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 12 Mar. 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/what-i-sa w-treating-the-victims-from-parkland-should-change-the-debate -on-guns/553937/.
