senate Bill S. 3171
Should People Under Age 16 be Banned From Possessing or Using Assault Weapons?
Argument in favor
There’s never a need for a person under the age of 16 to possess an assault weapon. It should be illegal for someone so young to ever have one in their possession, even at a firing range.
07/26/2016
You can't drive until you're 16, why should you be able to use a gun? Both are deadly and require a level of responsibility. Why are we ok with limiting the driving age, age of consent, and drinking age, but not the age at which a child can use something only intended to kill another human being?
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07/26/2016
People are against this because it won't allow their children to hunt. In what place in the United States do you need a machine gun to kill a deer?
07/26/2016
What in the world does a child (not to mention any person) need an assault weapon for? Please, enlighten me.
Argument opposed
This bill would wrongly revoke the ability of parents to teach their children about responsible gun ownership while using many of the most popular models of rifles, pistols, and shotguns.
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07/26/2016
The AR-15, the firearm that gun control supporters most often call an “assault weapon,” is the most popular rifle on the market today, accounting for one-fourth of all rifles manufactured in the United States. AR-15s are commonly kept for protection, home defense, they’re the most widely used rifle in marksmanship competitions and formal training, they’re widely used for recreational shooting, and they’re commonly used for hunting. Americans acquire roughly a million new AR-15s every year, in addition to large numbers of comparable semi-automatic rifles.
Magazines that hold more than 10 rounds are standard equipment for semi-automatic handguns commonly owned and carried for self-defense, as well as for rifles like the AR-15. The ownership of firearms that gun control supporters call “assault weapons” and ammunition magazines they call “large” have risen to all-time highs, the nation’s murder rate has fallen to an all-time low, and total violent crime has fallen to a 44-year low. Gun control supporters have been predicting for about a quarter-century that increased ownership of these firearms and magazines would cause crime to rise, the same thing they said about increased ownership of handguns during the 1970s and 1980s. In both instances, gun control supporters were obviously wrong.
Putting "Machine gun" and "Assault weapon" under the same bill is trying to paint them as the same type of gun. A "machine gun" or automatic rifle, for those of you (the legislator that drafted this bill) that have never purchased a gun, or tried to buy a gun, is already illegal for a 16 year old to purchase unless they have a class 3 License. They have to be at least 21, and that isn't the only requirement. A 16 year old statistically can cause more damage getting behind the wheel of a car than they can owning a semi automatic weapon for self defense or hunting.
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07/26/2016
I'm from Alabama. In rural areas teens hunt, protect animals from predators, intruders etc. even though I wouldn't allow my own pre adolescent children to use firearms, I can't support legislation that would take that right from others that need it.
07/26/2016
Generally speaking, I think it's silly to bring a minor to a gun range and give them an assault rifle. Generally speaking, I also am not in the business of telling people how to raise their kids. The government shouldn't be either.
You can't drive until you're 16, why should you be able to use a gun? Both are deadly and require a level of responsibility. Why are we ok with limiting the driving age, age of consent, and drinking age, but not the age at which a child can use something only intended to kill another human being?
The AR-15, the firearm that gun control supporters most often call an “assault weapon,” is the most popular rifle on the market today, accounting for one-fourth of all rifles manufactured in the United States. AR-15s are commonly kept for protection, home defense, they’re the most widely used rifle in marksmanship competitions and formal training, they’re widely used for recreational shooting, and they’re commonly used for hunting. Americans acquire roughly a million new AR-15s every year, in addition to large numbers of comparable semi-automatic rifles.
Magazines that hold more than 10 rounds are standard equipment for semi-automatic handguns commonly owned and carried for self-defense, as well as for rifles like the AR-15. The ownership of firearms that gun control supporters call “assault weapons” and ammunition magazines they call “large” have risen to all-time highs, the nation’s murder rate has fallen to an all-time low, and total violent crime has fallen to a 44-year low. Gun control supporters have been predicting for about a quarter-century that increased ownership of these firearms and magazines would cause crime to rise, the same thing they said about increased ownership of handguns during the 1970s and 1980s. In both instances, gun control supporters were obviously wrong.
Putting "Machine gun" and "Assault weapon" under the same bill is trying to paint them as the same type of gun. A "machine gun" or automatic rifle, for those of you (the legislator that drafted this bill) that have never purchased a gun, or tried to buy a gun, is already illegal for a 16 year old to purchase unless they have a class 3 License. They have to be at least 21, and that isn't the only requirement. A 16 year old statistically can cause more damage getting behind the wheel of a car than they can owning a semi automatic weapon for self defense or hunting.
I'm from Alabama. In rural areas teens hunt, protect animals from predators, intruders etc. even though I wouldn't allow my own pre adolescent children to use firearms, I can't support legislation that would take that right from others that need it.
Generally speaking, I think it's silly to bring a minor to a gun range and give them an assault rifle. Generally speaking, I also am not in the business of telling people how to raise their kids. The government shouldn't be either.
Firearms education and outreach starts at a young age. I learned a lot about responsibility from shooting all types of firearms starting around when I was 12. Legislating what should be family decisions is a destructive idea.
The reason we have such an issue with guns in this country, is people are scared of something they don't understand and don't know how it works. I'm glad I was taught gun safety, even with "assault" weapons(though that is a made up term). I know that they're dangerous and when and how to use it. Besides, it should be up to a parent, not the government if they want their child around guns.
Parents need to be able to train their children to properly use firearms.
Denying citizens who are 16 years of age or younger the ability to have access to these firearms, even at a firing range is the wrong idea in my opinion. What happens if a 15 year old is home alone, and an intruder breaks into the house? Limiting options in response to this threat is the wrong thing to do. Furthermore, preventing people from training with a weapon breeds incompetence which begets horrifying accidents.
This is nothing more than another step in the process of stigmatizing guns in American culture by keeping our children from learning about firearms.
Protect our 2nd Amendment created by the founding fathers of this country!!
Countable member John G. said:
"I think all weapons should be under the control of an adult, however I don't think anyone should tell parents how to raise their children. If parents feel it's necessary for their children to be able to handle weapons then they need to be able to teach them safety and responsibility. With what is happening on our borders there are households where there are reasons a teenager may need access to weapons for their own safety."
I agree with John! I VOTE NAY! Quit attacking our 2A right to KEEP AND BEAR ARMS and our right to raise our children the way we see fit, including teaching them to handle a gun safely and responsibly.
Oh, BTW, a "machine gun" and "assault weapon"? GIVE ME A BREAK! DemoCommies just keep trying to scare people who know almost nothing about guns by misleading them. Anyway, your FIST is technically an assault weapon, if you hit someone with it!
Also, do you really think a bill like this will keep ANY KIND OF GUNS out of the hands of teenage GANG MEMBERS?! If so, you are SERIOUSLY DELUSIONAL!
This is an idiotic fearmongering bill that is not based on logic. This bill would ban 16 year olds from possessing one firearm based on politically defined cosmetic/ergonomic features, while allowing them to shoot the exact same firearm in slightly different configurations. Pre-teens and young teens are completely capable of safely handling firearms. The entire purpose of this is to indoctrinate the next generation to be afraid of guns and will not do anything to keep teens safe. Protect the second amendment.
If a 16 is home alone and the robber or a killer come in how will he try to defend him or herself with a knife or better a baseball bat. A person would outsmart him or her with any weapon. A gun is the hardest weapon to outsmart someone after a canyon
Are we considering people under the age of 16 non-Americans? Are we going to take away any of their other constitutional rights simply because of their age?
How to properly handle and respect a weapon starts at a young age. It's not your business to decide how others choose to raise their children.
In order to create responsible gun owners, we must teach them from a young age. By prolonging the ability to exposure, we make them more reckless in the end.
What in the world does a child (not to mention any person) need an assault weapon for? Please, enlighten me.
It's the parents responsibility to determine what's best for their children, NOT the government's.
People are against this because it won't allow their children to hunt. In what place in the United States do you need a machine gun to kill a deer?
It's not the weapons that are the problem it's the weak minded people who are the problem,when you outlaw the weapons only the outlaws will have them. We can not give up are constitutional rights for safety if we do we will have neither.