Should Semi-automatic Weapons be Banned?

“Do you believe assault (semi-automatic) weapons should be banned and why?”

Pete Acevedo, 32, New York City

“Yes, very. You don’t need a semi-automatic weapon to hunt or defend yourself, but you do need it to kill multiple people as fast as possible. It’s as simple as that, and if anyone was truly concerned with conventional firearms not being ‘powerful enough’ then they’ve never heard of or used a shotgun before.”

Phylicea M. Ewart, 21, Bronx

“Yes, absolutely. When I think about the hateful massacre in Orlando and recently, the brutal and deadly killings in Las Vegas, the best response to that would be to ban the sale and access of military-style assault weapons. All else, I’m afraid, is just noise … We need a change and we need it now.”

Racquel Bramwell, 40, Bronx

“No, I don’t believe assault rifles should be banned since that’ll never work as American public would fight back. It’s better to regulate the sales and modifications.”

Ramon A. Fana, 29, Queens

“Yes, I agree with the banning of semi automatic weapons because the point of the second amendment is to serve as protection for the citizens but the problem is that such weapons are performance machines that on the wrong hands offer way more than just protection.”

Rosalyn Rodriguez, 21, Manhattan

“I do not support the banning of weapons let alone any specific type of weapon. Police have killed more civilians since 2016 than all the massacres combined since 2016. What needs to change is often overlooked and replaced with the least necessary.”

Shena Joseph, 26

“Yes, I support the banning of semi automatic weapons. I believe semi automatic weapons should be used for professional use, for example military and police. I don’t believe that regular citizens should possess any type of semi automatic weapons. Look at what happened in Las Vegas, if there were stricter gun control laws, many lives could of been saved.”

Wilmer Arpi, 25, Cortland Manor

“No, but there should be a mental health background check on anyone who is trying to buy one. As we have heard, in many incidents, people have been diagnosed with a mental illness after committing a serious crime.”

Yansen Fillipo, 24, Harlem

“I’m on the fence on whether or not automatic weapons should be banned. Our constitution gives us the right to bear arms. Its unfortunate people have abused that right and innocent people have paid for it. It would seem unfair to everyone else who carries a weapon legally and doesn’t use it for harm to not be able to carry because of someone else’s actions.”

Yolanis Barros, 28, Queens

“Yes, I think they should be banned. Nobody needs to have access to a weapon that fires 120 rounds per minute. The weapons in hands of civilians do more harm than good. I think a lot of these shootings would be prevented if it wasn’t legal for people to obtain these high kill weapons.”

Omar Darling, 42, Mount Vernon

“I think all weapons not just assault weapons should be banned. I think that only the military should be armed and that would be all the protection we would need. If you look at places such as the Netherlands, no has any guns and they have a very low crime rate. If no one has a weapon then no one else would have the need to go out and get a bigger weapon, which results in the problem that we have now where people want to go out and purchase semi-automatic weapons.”

Laith Abu-Mallouh, 23, Yonkers

“I think that automatic weapons should only be allowed to be used by law enforcement. There is no need for a regular civilian to defend himself with such a dangerous machine.”

Lovell Kingsberry, 43, Brooklyn

“Yes. I do support the banning of automatic weapons. As a father of three, it terrifies me that my kids can have such easy access to weapons. We live in a country where in some states it’s legal to carry. I feel if a higher level of restriction is placed, it won’t be as accessible. Too many children are having access, too many lives are being lost.”

Luis Diaz, 21, Bronx

“I believe assault weapons should be banned. These weapons were solely made for killing, not for self-defense or hunting. The fact that these weapons can fire so many rounds per minute is just ridiculous. There is no reason why a person should be allowed to own weapons that can kill so many people in such a short amount of time.”

Maggie Lau, 28, Queens

“I believe it should be banned, because no good comes from having a semi-automatic weapon. A lot of harm to innocent people has come from having a semi-automatic weapon. There are too many cases of children finding them in the house and “playing” with them only to accidentally open fire and killings themselves.”

Malique Warner, 30, White Plains

“No, I don’t support the banning of semi automatic weapons. I believe every American has the right to bare arms, because in the event of an uprise, war or just to protect one’s family and home, one should be able to protect themselves and people they love. That’s why the Second Amendment was made.”

Melinda Bercaw, 42, Queens

“Yes, I support banning semi automatic weapons. Our youth are getting their hands on these powerful weapons, using them to kill one another and to copycat massacres that other people did to make themselves famous. Also, these weapons should only be use for the military.”

Modesti Morales, 18, Bronx

“I think that assault weapons are bad and they should be banned. I could wake up one morning and decide to just go out and start shooting random people just because I am in a bad mood and there won’t be nothing that anyone could do.”

LaFance Paulin, 24, Bronx

“There is absolutely no place in our society where we would need to have access to assault weapons except to hurt someone else or kill another human being . . . But sometimes I think that even if we ban these items it will not be enough because if a criminal wants to really get their hands on them, then they will do so no matter what. This is unfortunately the situation we are dealing with now.”

Genovick Osser, 21, Brooklyn

“I support the banning of semi-automatic weapons and I also support greater restrictions to the public for standard firearms. I agree with the second amendment rights as long as it’s on the grounds of self-defense.”

Gladimir Torres, 49, Bronx

“That kind of weapon shouldn’t even exist. Governments give the example that we must fight and kill our enemies in order to resolve our problems. How could they expect the regular people to act otherwise? This weapon should be illegal, point blank.”

Jessica Paredes Lopez, 17, Yonkers

“I think they should be banned because of all the violence and even armed robberies. Why risk it when it can all be avoided by just banning these weapons? Of course, some people may need them, such as cops.”

Katie Shields, 27, Whitestone

“From years of working in a security business, I strongly oppose banning weapons to civilians that criminals will still be able to get their hands on illegally. Rather than banning these weapons all together, every state should cooperatively enforce stricter laws regarding gun permit regulations.”

Kevin Gonzalez, 23, Bronx

“Yes, they should be banned because no one person needs that much gun power.”

Kuburat Bello, 55, Brooklyn

“I believe the use of a semi automatic guns was solely developed for the military personnel to combat with during warfare. A civilian having access to it…contradicts the purpose.”

Kym Brown, 25, Bronx

“Yes, semi automatic weapons should be banned because civilians do not need weapons. The only people who should have these weapons are people in the army. I’m personally not a fan of guns, period. We need more strict gun laws, we need to check backgrounds before selling anyone a gun. It’s too many people that are getting killed due to people not having background checks.”

Frank Miranda, 28, Bronx

“No, it’s our right as Americans to bare arms. Semi-automatic weapons keep the law and people accountable.”

Angel Peralta, 18, Manhattan

“Yes, because as a society, we’ve seen many tragedy events due to assault weapons, the solution is to ban them.”

Ani Boyadjian, 20, Flushing

“Yes, I support banning those horrible lethal weapons because I don’t feel like someone should be able to manipulate a hand gun into an automatic weapon that can allow mass murders and shootings to occur, such as the recent incident in Las Vegas.”

Chardelle Anderson, 23, Bronx

“Yes, I do believe that weapons should be banned. People seem to stick with ‘everyone has the right to bear arms’ as (if saying) ‘everyone has the right to kill.’ They’re taking a life, a brother, a sister, a mother, a father, etc. Some people who shouldn’t even have the right to attain these weapons are using them to murder but hiding behind it as ‘protection’ and government is allowing that.”

Donatus Anusionwu, 66, New York

“That idea is very unnecessary and would make matters worse. Such a strategy would violate the nation’s Second Amendment which would make citizens to protest and revolt.”

Erin White, 31, Mahopac

“I’m kind of back and forth with it. I think they should because everyone is going crazy and taking advantage of these weapons. But then again, how are you suppose to protect yourself and your family if you don’t have them?”

Essence Cordero, 17, Yonkers

“They should ban assault weapons. There are too many incidents where people have died because someone misused these weapons.”

Fabian Burch, 26, Durham, North Carolina

“No, I do not believe assault rifles should be banned in the United States due to the fact that some Americans use the gun for recreational purposes such as shooting ranges or target practices on private property in the appropriate zones. However, the restrictions on these rifles should require in depth profiling of the purchaser.”

Aaliyah Abraham, 22, New York

“I do believe that semi-automatic guns should be banned for unauthorized civilians. I believe that both semi-automatic and automatic guns are appropriate for authorized law enforcers that protect and serve the communities throughout the country.”