NCJ Number
162230
Journal
Journal of the Medical Association of Georgia Volume: 83 Issue: 5 Dated: (May 1994) Pages: 281-289
Date Published
1994
Length
9 pages
Annotation
The American Medical Association (AMA) Council on Scientific Affairs did not conduct a rigorous scientific evaluation before supporting a ban on assault weapons, and the council appears to have unquestioningly accepted common misperceptions and even partisan misrepresentations concerning the nature and use of assault weapons.
Abstract
The only study offered by the council in support of its position was based on gun trace data, even though the council acknowledged that gun trace data are not representative of criminal gun use. The council dismissed constitutional impediments to an assault weapon ban without good authority. While the AMA believes an assault weapon ban is a relatively simple solution to the epidemic of violence, a scholarly review of the literature reveals no reliable data to support such a ban. Although sometimes cosmetically similar, assault weapons are not machine guns. High capacity, rapid fire, and lethality issues associated with assault weapons are discussed, along with the unrepresentative nature of gun trace requests and other data that indicate assault rifle and weapon wounds more closely approximate handgun injuries than rifle injuries. Legitimate uses of assault weapons are examined, including collection, target competition, hunting, self-protection, and community defense. The right to bear arms and other constitutional issues related to the assault weapon ban are analyzed, and an effective gun control strategy is recommended that is based on effective and constitutional measures supported by sound data. 66 references and 1 table