Clinton’s Unwarranted Rifle Banning Threat

Hillary Clinton has voiced many times that she wants to do something about United States’ gun culture. Specifically, she wants to review the Supreme Court’s decision in the Heller case that allow citizens to own guns.

That’s not all though–she wants to remove the protection of junk lawsuits against gun companies that sought to put them out of business AND ban firearms such as semi-automatic rifles (AR-15). What everyone needs to know is that this cannot happen. She cannot make this happen, nor can anyone else who slides into the Presidency.

Millions of people use semi-automatic weapons for hunting, competition, and recreational shooting. Most individuals who back Clinton’s threats of banning popular firearms believe these guns to be “assault weapons.” This term strikes fear among people who don’t understand what firearms or assault weapons truly are. Since they look intimidating, it’s easy for people to be afraid of them and want them banned. The problem? They are not machine guns or types of guns that people should be afraid of.

The confusion continues when people attempt to pigeonhole rifles such as the AR-15 into the defunct Clinton Gun Ban, which was also referred to as the assault weapon ban. Yes, that ban did prohibit basic auto-loading rifles, which are rifles that fire once after pulling the trigger. The problem started when the military decided to introduce the M-16 rifle. It confused people. Since both rifles look similar, everyone thought they are the same.

AR-15s can’t be converted to full automatic weapons easily. It’s so difficult that most gun owners and enthusiasts can’t do it. This was a major concern of people who thought criminals would try to turn their semi-automatic rifles to “machine guns.”

This is why the Clinton Gun Ban proposed in 1994 failed. People resorted to the AR-15 when it was in place, and they even referred to it as a Modern Sporting Rifle (MSR). It was still like the guns the ban was trying to prohibit, but didn’t fit the criteria. They were used for hunting, competitive shooting, and even personal protection.

The Second Amendment guarantees Americans the right to keep and bear arms. When bans are implemented such as the Clinton Gun Ban, they go against what America was based on so long ago. People will always try to show that guns are the root of all evil, but guns are not all the same.