CLAIM: During his April 28, 2021, speech to Congress, President Joe Biden claimed the 1994 “assault weapons” ban lowered gun crime.
VERDICT: False. The Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ) released a report as the federal “assault weapons” ban was about to expire, noting no reduction in gun crime that could be credited to the ban itself. The Washington Times quoted the report’s lead researcher saying, “There has been no discernible reduction in the lethality and injuriousness of gun violence.”
Biden twice made his claim about the alleged effectiveness of the “assault weapons” ban.
First, he referenced passing the ban in the 1990s, adding, “We beat the NRA. Mass shootings and gun violence declined.”
He later said, “We need a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines again. Don’t tell me it can’t be done. We’ve done it before … and it worked.”
On February 19, 2018, Breitbart News looked back at the NIJ report, noting its findings that “the ban’s effects on gun violence are likely to be small at best and perhaps too small for reliable measurement.”
The Times seized on a portion of the NIJ report which indicated one of the reasons banning “assault weapons” might have been ineffective was because such firearms were “rarely used in gun crimes even before the ban.”
On August 11, 2019, Breitbart News cited FBI Uniform Crime Report numbers showing more people were killed in 2017 with hammers and clubs than were killed with rifles of any kind.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.
186064 416530I truly enjoy searching by means of on this web site , it holds superb content material . 556565
635761 906051Ill do this if need to as a lot as I hope that is not too far off the track. 394959
801948 81246woah i like yur site. It truly helped me with the data i wus seeking for. thank you, will save. 837220
474713 98543A thoughtful insight and tips I will use on my weblog. Youve certainly spent plenty of time on this. Thank you! 105400
848701 650749I like this web site really much, Its a truly good billet to read and obtain info . 889125
946077 42169I adore this info presented and possesses given me some type of resolve forpersistance to succeed i actually enjoy seeing, so sustain the outstanding work. 35953
89192 525775I truly got into this write-up. I identified it to be fascinating and loaded with unique points of interest. I like to read material that makes me think. Thank you for writing this fantastic content material. 792969
222208 912432hey there, your web site is wonderful. I do thank you for work 28742
442704 5949Hey! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and tell you I truly enjoy reading your posts. Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that go over the same subjects? Thank you! 111336
242650 165496Oh my goodness! an amazing article dude. Thank you Even so My business is experiencing issue with ur rss . Dont know why Unable to subscribe to it. Can there be anyone obtaining identical rss dilemma? Anybody who knows kindly respond. Thnkx 324162
261218 893358What a superb viewpoint, nonetheless is just not produce every sence by any indicates discussing this mather. Just about any technique thanks and also i had try and discuss your post directly into delicius but it surely appears to be an issue inside your blogging is it possible you ought to recheck this. thank you just as before. 925488
903135 732372Great post, I conceive weblog owners really should acquire a great deal from this web blog its real user pleasant. 6846