Assault Weapons [View all]

Last edited Sat Nov 14, 2015, 06:47 AM - Edit history (1)

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[div id="container" style="display:inline"]A study analyzing FBI data shows that 20% of the law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty from 1998 to 2001 were killed with assault weapons. Anecdotal evidence from law enforcement leaders suggests that military-style assault weapons are increasingly being used against law enforcement by drug dealers and gang members. In response, law enforcement agencies are upgrading their arsenals to include more assault weapons. A 2007 report by the International Association of Chiefs of Police recommended that Congress enact an effective ban on military-style assault weapons in order to curb the ability of criminals to “outgun” law enforcement officers.

Assault weapons are a relatively new class of firearms. During the 1980s, the firearms industry sought to reverse a decline in consumer demand for guns by developing and marketing new types of weapons based on military designs, including assault weapons.

A strong majority of Americans, including gun owners, consistently support laws prohibiting assault weapons.

[div id="container" style="display:inline"]For example, a poll conducted in December 2012 found that 62% of Americans favored banning military-style assault weapons. In another survey, 67% of Field & Stream readers polled did not consider assault weapons to be legitimate sporting guns.

http://smartgunlaws.org/assault-weapons-policy-summary/
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The Lapsed Federal Assault Weapons Ban: In 1994, Congress adopted the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which made it “unlawful for a person to manufacture, transfer, or possess” a semiautomatic assault weapon.13 The law was adopted with a sunset clause, however, and expired in 2004, despite overwhelming public support for its renewal. Thus, semi-automatic, military style weapons that were formerly banned under the federal law are now legal unless banned by state or local law.

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