The Banishment of Civilian Ownership of Assault Rifles - Essay Example

While it is the constitutional right of all Americans to own a gun for the purposes of self-protection, the ownership of assault rifles has to be outlawed. This is because of the fact that many of the occurrences where assault rifles have previously been used have not been in self-defense (Grier, 2012). In fact, the assault rifle has often ended up being used in criminal activities ranging from gang violence to murder. The assault rifle is a weapon that does not rightfully belong in civilian hands.

These are weapons that have been built for one reason only, and that is for the purpose of aggressive action. The assault rifles tend to be used in wars and they are said to be responsible for the deaths of millions of people in conflicts worldwide. The power of such weapons is so great that they are feared as well as held in awe by many people. When such weapons are brought into the civilian world, they are more likely to bring with them chaos than peace. The thought of individuals owning assault rifles can be considered a direct threat to society.

The people who should be best armed in the society are the police, and this is because they have the stern duty of having to fight violent crime. However, with assault weapons in the hands of civilians, especially criminals or unstable people, then it would become an increasingly heavy task for the police to ensure the security of the public.Despite the fact that civilians have to be allowed some form of weaponry to defend themselves, assault rifles are not among them. This is because these rifles have been devised to do one thing only, and that is to exterminate life.

Such a weapon belongs to a warzone in the hands of soldiers whose aim is to kill their opponents before they are killed. Civilians hardly ever have to confront such situation; hence, assault rifles do not belong in their possession. Most people tend to use the guns in their possession for the purpose of marksmanship, hunting, and recreational shooting. All the sports that have been mentioned have no need for the use of assault rifles because to use one would be completely destroy the sport. While all other rifles in the possession of civilians can be used for recreational activities, the assault rifle cannot and this puts it beyond the range of civilians.

Such weapons have been built for the sake of destruction, the instant killing of large numbers of people in an instant (Grier, 2013). Assault weapons have automatic fire capabilities, and this tends to be extremely useful when in an all-out gun battle. This is something that many civilians never encounter their whole lives, and because of this, there is no need for them to own assault rifles. Assault rifles should be completely banned from civilian hands because they do not serve any purpose other than to bring death to those unfortunate enough to become the victims of their possessors.

ReferencesGrier, P. (2012). How would a new US ban on assault rifles work? The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved from http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/2012/1218/How-would-a-new-US-ban-on-assault-rifles-work-video Grier, P. (2013). Gun debate 101: How would this assault-weapons ban be different? The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved from http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/2013/0116/Gun-debate-101-How-would-this-assault-weapons-ban-be-different