Assault weapons gun ban - Essay Example

The reason for which Jimmy Carter, along with George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, supported this law has to be analyzed. This law got passed in 1994 and expired in ten years. When the law was approaching expiration date various police organizations, including police chiefs and sheriffs, have demanded for its renewal. They called on the President of that time to renew and strengthen the law. But with a sparkle from the White House, protestors demand prevailed and the ban was terminated. Carter personally owned a lot of different types of gun which includes “two handguns, four shotguns and three rifles, two with scopes” (Carter, n.p.).

He and his other friends cherished the ownership of the guns. He used these guns for the purpose of hunting in his family woods and field and occasionally he also took his family along with his friends for hunting. He and his friend used to cultivate innovate ideas to do various things on the gun. He even used to display many of them in the white house. According to Carter, in case of hunting if one maintains safety there should not be any problem. But neither Carter nor his friends wanted to posses such an assault gun.

Since they believed that the assault guns were used to either kill policemen or any other civilian. He believed that White House should not have given up trying to reinforce the law, even if there were lots of political difficulties. A lot of emotions were also attached with the ban of the Assault Weapons. The N.R.A. leaders were highly influenced by the firearm industry and they started believing that the firearms were being snatched away from them and the house owners were deprived of ways to protect themselves.

He argues that the fire industry and other governing authorities should reassess the safety and accountability and should enact the ban again. And if the politicians fear the disapproval of N.R.A during election then it was not at all a solid reason (Carter, n.p.). The view of Wheeler should also be assessed in order to have clear understanding of the law. Wheeler has pointed some predictions by studying the psychology of the criminals. He argues that assault guns were not used by the criminals because they were difficult to hide.

The data of National Institute of Justice says that “Assault Weapons were used in fewer than eight percent of gun crimes even before the ban” (Wheeler, n.p.). Moreover the criminals were more inclined to use high quality hand gun. “Handgun Epidemic Lowering Plan (HELP Network)” (Wheeler, n.p.) says that the end of the ban over the assault gun would lead to a wave of increase crime. And that the root of all evils was the gun. But this belief had no basis. As the panic of the assault gun faded, the activists try to discover a new type of gun.

“California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk lies a bill to ban .50 caliber rifles” (Wheeler, n.p.). That has resulted into the myth that the terrorists used .50-caliber rifles and assault rifles were used by the criminals. But the reports actually suggested that .50 caliber was used by the criminals also. Wheeler also argues that Assault Weapon was deliberately misrepresented by the anti gunners as machine guns. In the year 2003 CNN showed a video of machine gun and