As the federal “assault weapons” ban was about to expire in 2004, the Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ) reported that the ban could not be credited with any reduction in crime.
The Washington Times quoted University of Pennsylvania professor Christopher Koper, author of the NIJ report, saying, “We cannot clearly credit the ban with any of the nation’s recent drop in gun violence. And, indeed, there has been no discernible reduction in the lethality and injuriousness of gun violence.”
The NIJ report continued, “The ban’s effects on gun violence are likely to be small at best and perhaps too small for reliable measurement.”
The report put matters into perspective by pointing out that “assault weapons” were “rarely used in gun crimes even before the ban.” In other words, “assault weapons” were not a weapon of choice before the ban, so why would banning them be expected to contribute to a drop in crime?
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1 comment:
The "assault" weapons ban was ridiculous from the start. Might as well have been call the "scary looking" weapons ban.
The problem is that is was a law designed to pander to people who didn't have the facts, and don't know any better. A way for politicians to do "something" (even thought they know it's pointless) so it doesn't appear that they are doing nothing.
It's not surprising the results found related to this legislation.
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