No Joe, Banning “Assault Weapons” Doesn’t Work

By Cam Edwards

AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

Former Vice-President Joe Biden recently penned an op/ed (or more likely, someone penned it for him) claiming that the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban actually worked to reduce crime, and that a bigger, badder ban needs to be re-instituted. Clay Turner, former editor of America’s First Freedom magazine, says Biden’s got his gun ban all wrong.

For example: Biden claims, “We have a huge problem with guns.” Of course, you will find no reports of guns stalking women, invading homes or engaging in turf shootouts. People do these things. In academic circles, Biden’s claim is called anthropomorphism, or ascribing human characteristics to inanimate objects. It’s a literary device, not fact.

Data is not on Biden’s side, either. Research is often mind-numbing, but an entertaining article by BJ Campbell confirms, “There is no clear correlation whatsoever between gun ownership rate and gun homicide rate. Not within the U.S. Not regionally. Not internationally.” It’s worth the read, but if you’re not inclined to do so, consider that the U.S. gun homicide rates have been falling since the mid-1990s. Meanwhile, domestic gun sales have skyrocketed (especially during the Obama/Biden administration). Correlate that, Joe.