Your “Assault Weapon” Is No Longer A Part Of The Second Amendment

As of late in the afternoon of February 22^nd, 2017, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Maryland’s 2013 Firearms Safety Act with a 10-4 panel. If you do not live in Maryland or you are not familiar with this act, it states that the Second Amendment does not protect your right to “weapons of war.” The term “weapons of war” has perked many ears and has raised even more tempers. A statement from Judge Robert B. King was released saying, “We conclude, contrary to the now-vacated decision of our prior panel, that the banned assault weapons and large-capacity magazines are not protected by the Second Amendment.” There’s that term that you see in mainstream media frequently… “assault weapons.”

Based on the verbiage of this ruling, semiautomatic rifles will be taken away from law abiding citizens. Let’s get this as clear as possible. Rifles, not weapons, will be stripped away from the citizens of Maryland. To touch back on the phrase “weapons of war,” the AR-15 is not a weapon of war nor will it ever be. The AR-15 is being categorized among arms that are “like M-16 rifles.” So, the AR-15 is facing repercussions for being “like M-16 rifles” all while being labeled by how someone could use it. Color me ignorant, but I don’t know many law-abiding citizens that use AR-15s for “assaults” let alone use them as “weapons.” This ruling should not apply to any of us because we shoot our rifles not assault with our weapons. I guess anything is possible to outlaw when you use the action of said object to label it.

Let’s take a brief minute to analyze some facts in regards to the use of firearms for crimes. From the FBI’s Expanded Homicide Data of Murder Victims by Weapon from 2010 to 2014, 1,530 deaths resulted from the use of a rifle in homicides from 2010 to 2014. However, 63,061 deaths resulted from the use of any type of weapon (Hands, poisons, explosives, narcotics, etc.) during this time period. Just to put things into perspective even further, blunt objects were used to commit 2,436 homicides over the span of those four years. You are more likely to be murdered by someone with a walking cane (Excuse me; ASSAULT cane.) than to be murdered by a rifle. So, why is the AR-15 receiving so much scrutiny by law when the facts show that the use of sporting rifles result in far less crime? You can be the judge of that.

More now than ever do the people need to pay attention to how things are being broadcasted to them. We have lawyers with Ivy League degrees that sit on the hill feeding you misinformation consistently and determining what you and I can do despite our rights. 21 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, Kentucky, and West Virginia) have formed a coalition and are taking action so that our rights will not be infringed upon. These states agree that this ban is unconstitutional and that it needs to be overturned as quickly as possible. It’s time to make sure that your state hears your voice, knows that they have your support, and that you will not stand for this unconstitutional ban.

FBI US Murders by Weapon Type: https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2014/crime-in-the-u.s.-2014/tables/expanded-homicide-data/expanded_homicide_data_table_8_murder_victims_by_weapon_2010-2014.xls/output.xls

21 States: http://14544-presscdn-0-64.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Kolbe-v.-OMalley-WV-amicus-brief-file-stamped.pdf