Off-Target: Why 'assault weapons' are a distraction from the real problem of handgun violence

RurouniKenshin

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Friday January 11, 2013 · 3:47 PM PST

2013/01/11 · 15:47

It seems that all we hear about these days when it comes to talks about gun control is 'assault weapons.' Talks of banning them, images of scary-looking AR-15 rifles, and descriptions of how fast they can fire and how many rounds their magazines can hold take up what seems to be the vast majority of the discussion of gun control.

So naturally, you'd think that assault rifles are a big problem, and the source of a significant number of homicides in America.

Unfortunately, that's completely wrong. We're being distracted from the real problem, trying to fix a pothole when the bridge has collapsed.

We'll take a look at what the statistics say after the break.

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