In the past few months a relatively simple topic has brought about massive controversy in the U.S. and several other advanced nations; gun control is this topic. Several strong opinions have been shown on this topic do to the incidents that have occurred threw out the nations. These events include mass shootings at schools, movie theaters and churches, all of which were committed using semiautomatic or fully automatic weapons equipped with large magazines, This posses the problem that many people in congress are now focusing on; should the public be able to access weapons of fully automatic nature and if so should large magazine sizes be allowed.

One thing people don't understand is the difference between the weapons on the market right now, from pump action to semiautomatic to fully automatic weapon. The difference between a pump action weapon to a semi automatic is quite distinct do to the simple fact that a manual change of bullets is needed in a pump while a semiautomatic will automatically change bullets once fired. This change brings the fire rate up from a 10 shots per minute rate to a 60 shot per minute rate in the average semiautomatic. Then the Fully automatic weapons take it one step further by removing the need for each bullet to be individually fired. here is an example of a common automatic weapon called the M4A1-

"Caliber: 5.56mm NATO

Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt

Overall length: 838 mm (stock extended); 757 mm (stock fully collapsed)

Barrel length: 370 mm

Weight: 2.52 kg without magazine; 3.0 kg with magazine loaded with 30 rounds

Rate of fire: 700 - 950 rounds per minute

Maximum effective range: 360 m "
The change is tremendous 60 bullets a min to having the capability of firing 950 in a minute(Modern Firearms). All though these numbers may be staggering the fact is if there isn't a clip that can hold 950 bullets then everyone would be fine right? Well that is right, but in actuality there are extended clips that can approach this number. Extended clips are a problem that most people over look once they've seen the power of the weapons they tend to just focus in on this topic, but extended clips are truthfully the bigger problem. How better to address the seriousness of this problem then with the advertisements used to sell these clips? "with a high capacity magazine you have the opportunity to carry the same number of ammunition magazines, with a lot more ammunition." ; "A high capacity gun ammo magazine is much more convenient to use than a regular magazine since a high capacity magazine can often hold two to almost three times as much ammunition as a regular magazine." (High Capacity Gun Magazines). These allow for the use of high powered fast firing automatic weapons.

These weapons were not intended to be used by every day citizens or even the every day police officer. These weapons were designed for toughs with elite training. police officers undergo 90 hours of basic weapon training and then roughly 10 hours of weapon training every year, but this training is for pistils and shotguns which both are semiautomatic (Firearms Training). The FBI on the other hand has far more strenuous training for their need of special skills. They are highly trained and go threw computer simulated tests only to be critiqued for the slightest errors that were made while attached to the computer systems. This teaches a mentality that common people don't just have(FBI ). These simulations on top of real shooting practice harden the minds of these select few allowing them to cope with the Trauma caused by the need to use a weapon of this caliber. This idea of dealing with Trauma may seem silly, but it is realistic being physically able to shoot doesn't always prepare a human for a Traumatic seen. When a human experiences traumatic events that require them to be armed, it is unlikely that they will even be sane, do to the change in the "levels of several neurotransmitters in your brain"(Responces to Trauma). This is why the training that the FBI does is so important it isn't just a physical lesson like police officers get it is mental training. This is why police offices only use semiautomatic weapons because they aren't mentally capable of using an automatic weapon. If these weapons are so dangerous that our own every day peace keepers won't use them why would civilians be allowed to access them?

Semiautomatic weapons are often used by civilians for hunting big game animals such as deer and elk in wooded areas such as Tennessee. These weapons are often needed to quickly end a large and dangerous animals life, as to avoid human death and animal suffering. this is why they are allowed to be used for hunting, which many people do to support their families(2012-2013 Big Game Legal Hunting Equipment). These people survive off their ability to hunt so if you take that from them it becomes far harder for them to make it threw these hard times. That is why they enforce their second amendment right to bear arms-

" A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." (US Const).
This right is protected in the constitution so it is hard to tamper with and makes access to guns very hard to restrict. This can be a good thing at times though because whenever there is a time that our train professionals are off duty when violence should occur they can be armed allowing them to react. This is helpful when robberies occur and off duty officers step in. The FBI actually does training just for the quick use of a concealed weapon(FBI). These things defiantly are beneficial to the public weather feeding families or stopping robberies, but they are all done with semiautomatic weapons. This shows that a select few in the population should be able to hold semiautomatic weapons but little more, Because who really needs to shoot 950 bullets in a minute?

The change from common day men to professional killers is very dramatic just like the change from a pump action shotgun to a M4A1. This is why civilians should not be able to gain access to automatic weapons, and why gun control should be implemented. No average person needs weapons of that magnitude it will only bring about accidents, murder and sorrow. Just remember nine five zero, 950 That is how many bullets one person can fire, in one minute, with one weapon.






























Works Cited



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