"assault weapons should NOT be prohibited from law abiding citizens

To start, let's just clarify the case proper. Pro has stated what the definition of an assault weapon is in this case, and I will hold to that. However, we have no definition of what prohibition looks like. Though I could use this to simply say that there would be increased restrictions on assault weapons (as in higher level gun permits requiring more training and deeper background checks), but I think I'd rather make this as straightforward as possible. As such, this will be a straight up ban. This could be accomplished by a complete ban on semi-automatic rifles, though that wouldn't be specific to the instance here. Mine will follow the lines of Senator Diane Feinstein's proposal.[1] That's not to say that I believe even the former assault weapons ban, was ineffective, simply less so than it could have been. The evidence available pretty strongly suggests that it played a significant role in reducing the number of gun deaths. The number of firearm homicides, which correlate strongly with overall homicides, drops appreciably from 17,527 to 11,624 over the course of the 10 years it was in effect. That's a 39% decrease in firearm homicides, and a 39% decrease in overall homicides. This data comes from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.[2] They're not alone. Pew Charitable Trusts presented similar data, in fact including that firearms crimes were decreasing during this same period. This same group also did a poll of the general public to see their perception of its effects, and found that the public was generally pessimistic about it as a result of not knowing what was in these gun laws.[2] This policy would improve upon the original, though there are many aspects it keeps that are effective. I won't address the bans on increased magazine capacity directly (though that can be a subject of debate if Pro wishes to have it), but I will still address capacity from the standpoint of assault rifles specifically. The list of features that I'll be addressing are as follows: The ability to accept a detachable (interchangeable) magazine A folding or telescoping stock A pistol grip of conspicuous size A grenade launcher[3] I will, however, add one thing onto the proposal for my own, and that is anything that allows a faster rate of fire above that which semi-automatic rifles are currently able to achieve. This would include bump fire, which can result from the use of different triggers (as with the Hellfire trigger)[4][5] and slide fire stocks,[6] both of which are widely affordable and adaptable to semi-automatic rifles. So why do we care about these additions? The detachable magazine is a problem mainly for quick reload times. Even if a magazine capacity reduction was in effect, this would vastly increase the capacity by making the change-over incredibly simple. This is necessary to start on that path. I'll spend some more time talking about why capacity matters at the end of this round. The folding or telescoping stock makes a weapon easier to carry and conceal, and is a frequent factor in mass shooting situations.[7] The pistol grip has been used before with the AR-15, and it allows the shooter to both "pull the trigger more quickly and to better control the recoil, allowing him to fire more rapidly with more accuracy. It also enables shooting from the hip and sprying fire from the side " something that would be deadly when firing into a crowd but useless in a self-defense situation."[7] The grenade launcher isn't quite so obvious, since explosive grenades are heavily regulated. However, other kinds of projectiles, including smoke grenades, aren't so hard to come by, and other explosives can be more easily made.[7] To provide some idea of the actual harm beyond the statistics, we can simply look back at previous instances in which assault rifles were used. This Mother Jones article [8] shows that, of 143 mass shootings over the past 30 years, 28 involved the usage of rifles, 20 were assault weapons, and 42 of them used high capacity magazines.[8] If Con is looking for specific instances, look no further. Sandy Hook included the usage of a Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle, .223 caliber. Aurora included a Smith & Wesson M&P15 AR 15 style rifle, .223 caliber. A shooting in Clackamas Town Center, Oregon was committed by an AR 15 style rifle, .223 caliber. An IHOP shooting in Carson City utilized an AK47 variant semi-automatic rifle, 7.62x39 caliber. There are several others on this list.[9] I've got more. "In 2002, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo terrorized the Washington region for three weeks by firing bullets at innocent people in parking lots and at gas stations, ultimately killing 10 people and wounding three others. They used a Bushmaster XM-15 E2S rifle, one many variants of America's most popular assault weapon, the AR-15. In 2006, Kyle Aaron Huff used a Bushmaster when he opened fire at a post-rave party in Seattle, killing six before committing suicide. In 2007, Tyler Peterson used an AR-15 to kill six people at a homecoming party in Crandon, Wis. In 2012, a gunman opened fire at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., killing 12 people and injuring 58 others. Police say James Holmes used a Smith & Wesson version of the AR-15 that was equipped with a 100-round drum magazine. And in December, Adam Lanza used a Bushmaster XM-15 in his massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, killing 20 children and six adults."[7] Now, a brief point on why we should care about capacity. I think this is relatively straightforward, but the basic idea is that when a shooter has the ability to fire more bullets in succession, the capacity to intervene is dramatically reduced. Survivor accounts prove this to be so. In the 2011 Tucson shooting, "three bystanders, one of whom was wounded, managed to subdue the shooter as he attempted to reload his second 30-plus round magazine."[3] In other words, if he had been capable of firing fewer shots without reloading, "witnesses could have deterred him sooner and fatalities and injuries could have been fewer." With that, I leave it to Pro to make his case and rebut mine. 1. http://www.feinstein.senate.gov... 2. http://www.theatlanticcities.com... 3. http://www.policymic.com... 4. http://www.nbcbayarea.com... 5. http://www.csmonitor.com... 6. http://www.motherjones.com... 7. http://articles.baltimoresun.com... 8. www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/02/assault-weapons-high-capacity-magazines-mass-shootings-feinstein 9. http://www.cga.ct.gov...