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What Happened to the Ban on Assault Weapons?
By JIMMY CARTER
Published: April 26, 2009
THE evolution in public policy concerning the manufacture, sale and possession of semiautomatic assault weapons like AK-47s, AR-15s and Uzis has
been very disturbing. Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and I all supported a ban on these formidable firearms, and one was
finally passed in 1994.
When the 10-year ban was set to expire, many police organizations — including 1,100 police chiefs and sheriffs from around the nation — called on
Congress and President George W. Bush to renew and strengthen it. But with a wink from the White House, the gun lobby prevailed and the ban
expired.
I have used weapons since I was big enough to carry one, and now own two handguns, four shotguns and three rifles, two with scopes. I use them
carefully, for hunting game from our family woods and fields, and occasionally for hunting with my family and friends in other places. We cherish the
right to own a gun and some of my hunting companions like to collect rare weapons. One of them is a superb craftsman who makes muzzle-loading
rifles, one of which I displayed for four years in my private White House office. ( Now he's trying to divide the "righteous" hunters vs. the evil black
rifle group, lame. )
But none of us wants to own an assault weapon, because we have no desire to kill policemen or go to a school or workplace to see how many victims
we can accumulate before we are finally shot or take our own lives. That’s why the White House and Congress must not give up on trying to reinstate
a ban on assault weapons, even if it may be politically difficult. (As if we who do own them want to kill the police, his logic is mystifying.)
An overwhelming majority of Americans, including me and my hunting companions, believe in the right to own weapons, but surveys show that they
also support modest restraints like background checks, mandatory registration and brief waiting periods before purchase.
A majority of Americans also support banning assault weapons. Many of us who hunt are dismayed by some of the more extreme policies of the
National Rifle Association, the most prominent voice in opposition to a ban, and by the timidity of public officials who yield to the group’s
unreasonable demands.
Heavily influenced and supported by the firearms industry, N.R.A. leaders have misled many gullible people into believing that our weapons are going
to be taken away from us, and that homeowners will be deprived of the right to protect ourselves and our families. The N.R.A. would be justified in its
efforts if there was a real threat to our constitutional right to bear arms. But that is not the case. ( Did he ask people who live in Chicago or
Wash.,D.C or maybe people who travel through National parks/Forest?)
Instead, the N.R.A. is defending criminals’ access to assault weapons and use of ammunition that can penetrate protective clothing worn by police
officers on duty. ( I suppose his hunting rifles wouldn't be able to do it either.) In addition, while the N.R.A. seems to have reluctantly accepted
current law restricting sales by licensed gun dealers to convicted felons, it claims that only “law-abiding people” obey such restrictions — and it
opposes applying them to private gun dealers or those who sell all kinds of weapons from the back of a van or pickup truck at gun shows.
What are the results of this profligate ownership and use of guns designed to kill people? In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
reported more than 30,000 people died from firearms, accounting for nearly 20 percent of all injury deaths. In 2005, every nine hours a child or
teenager in the United States was killed in a firearm-related accident or suicide. (Now he's throwing stats that has nothing to do with "Assault
Weapons")
Across our border, Mexican drug cartels are being armed with advanced weaponry imported from the United States — a reality only the N.R.A. seems to
dispute. ( Again, the same misleading info that the media has been using. )
The gun lobby and the firearms industry should reassess their policies concerning safety and accountability — at least on assault weapons — and ease
their pressure on acquiescent politicians who fear N.R.A. disapproval at election time. We can’t let the N.R.A.’s political blackmail prevent the banning
of assault weapons — designed only to kill police officers and the people they defend. ( Another fear inducing statement aimed at the firearm
illiterate. )
The year he was elected was my first election, after coming of age, I didn't vote for him then and he has proven my decision to have been right.