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Follow the Science Chipman! “Assault Weapons” Bans Don’t Work.

Monday, June 7, 2021

Follow the Science Chipman! “Assault Weapons” Bans Don’t Work.

During director of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives nominee David Chipman’s May 26 Senate confirmation hearing, the paid anti-gun activist worked to obscure the woeful record of the 1994 Clinton “assault weapons” ban. That ban prohibited the sale of certain types of commonly-owned semiautomatic firearms, and magazines with a capacity greater than 10 rounds. Prompted by a question from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chipman described the data regarding the ban’s efficacy as “mixed.” In truth, the Clinton semi-auto ban was a failure that even the federal government has acknowledged as ineffective. 

The key to understanding why bans on commonly-owned semiautomatic firearms like the AR-15 rifle do not and cannot reduce violent crime is acknowledging the fact that these firearms are rarely used in violent crime.

Consider, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting data, rifles were used in connection with 364 homicides in 2019. More than four times that number of murders involved a knife or other cutting instrument (1,476 such murders), and there were more murders using blunt objects (397) or personal weapons like hands, fists, or feet (600) than involved a rifle of any type.

Faced with the reality that so-called “assault weapons,” are rarely used to commit violent crime, a 1997 Department of Justice-funded study of the 1994 Clinton ban determined that “At best, the assault weapons ban can have only a limited effect on total gun murders, because the banned weapons and magazines were never involved in more than a modest fraction of all gun murders.”

The study also noted,

We were unable to detect any reduction to date in two types of gun murders that are thought to be closely associated with assault weapons, those with multiple victims in a single incident and those producing multiple bullet wounds per victim.

A 2004 follow-up Department of Justice-funded study came to a similar conclusion. The study determined that “AWs [assault weapons] and LCMs [large capacity magazines] were used in only a minority of gun crimes prior to the 1994 federal ban,” “relatively few attacks involve more than 10 shots fired,” and “the ban’s effects on gun violence are likely to be small at best and perhaps too small for reliable measurement.”

Presented with the overwhelming evidence that the ban was ineffective, Congress did not renew it. 

In 2013, the Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice surveyed the available research on a host of gun control measures for the Obama administration. Regarding a semiautomatic ban, the report determined “Assault weapons are not a major contributor to gun crime,” and that therefore, “a complete elimination of assault weapons would not have a large impact on gun homicides.” 

In 2018, the RAND Corporation released a comprehensive study that surveyed the available research on several gun control policies. As part of the study, RAND researchers sought to determine “How Bans on the Sale of Assault Weapons and High-Capacity Magazines Affect Gun Use Outcomes.” The study stated, “We found no qualifying studies showing that bans on the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines decreased any of the eight outcomes we investigated.” The “gun use outcomes” studied included “violent crime.”

The evidence is clear, banning commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms and their accessories doesn’t work. Chipman and the broader gun control movement’s continued advocacy for a failed policy measure reveals that their political project isn’t motivated by a desire for “gun safety,” reducing violence, or “public health,” but rather a religious passion for civilian disarmament.

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Florida: House Passes Constitutional Carry

Friday, March 24, 2023

Florida: House Passes Constitutional Carry

Today, the House voted 76-32 to pass House Bill 543, the constitutional carry bill.

Seattle’s Gun Tax: A Textbook Case on the Law of Inverse Consequences

News  

Monday, March 27, 2023

Seattle’s Gun Tax: A Textbook Case on the Law of Inverse Consequences

The law of inverse or unintended consequences refers to outcomes that are the reverse of the planned or expected results. As described in another context, “the law of unintended consequences could create a perverse effect contrary to ...

Updates to ATF Final Rule on Stabilizing Braces

News  

Monday, January 30, 2023

Updates to ATF Final Rule on Stabilizing Braces

On Monday, January 30, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (ATF) published the final Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached “Stabilizing Braces” rule for public inspection in the federal register.

Florida: Senate Passes Constitutional Carry

Thursday, March 30, 2023

Florida: Senate Passes Constitutional Carry

Today, the Senate voted 27-13 to pass House Bill 543, the constitutional carry bill received from the House last week.

North Carolina: VETO OVERRIDDEN

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

North Carolina: VETO OVERRIDDEN

Today, March 29, the House voted 71-46 to override Governor Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 41, a bill that recognizes law-abiding citizens’ right to self-defense while attending a church with a school attached and also repeals the ...

Florida: Senate’s Constitutional Carry Passes Committee

Thursday, March 9, 2023

Florida: Senate’s Constitutional Carry Passes Committee

Today, the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee voted 11-6 to approve Senate Bill 150, constitutional carry, with an amendment aligning the language with the House’s version. It will now go to the full Senate for further consideration.

Biden’s Executive Order Targeting Gun Ownership

News  

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Biden’s Executive Order Targeting Gun Ownership

On Tuesday, Joe Biden issued an executive order on gun control that could accurately be described as a mile wide and an inch deep.

Nebraska: Constitutional Carry PASSED Second Vote, ONE MORE VOTE TO GO

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Nebraska: Constitutional Carry PASSED Second Vote, ONE MORE VOTE TO GO

Today the Nebraska Legislature voted 31-10 to pass Legislative Bill 77, “LB 77” by Senator Tom Brewer, the constitutional carry bill on Select File.  This bill recognizes the fundamental right of law-abiding adults to carry firearms for ...

Colorado: Assault Weapon Ban Committee Hearing Scheduled!

Monday, March 27, 2023

Colorado: Assault Weapon Ban Committee Hearing Scheduled!

On March 29, the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on House Bill 23-1230 (“HB 23-1230”), which bans the manufacturing, importing, purchasing, selling, offering to sell, or transferring ownership of what the drafters have defined as ...

Florida: 2023 Session Convened, Senate Committee Hearing Constitutional Carry

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Florida: 2023 Session Convened, Senate Committee Hearing Constitutional Carry

Yesterday, March 7th, the Florida Legislature began the 2023 legislative session. Tomorrow, at 9:00AM, the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee will hear Senate Bill 150, the Senate’s constitutional carry bill.

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Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.