President Obama’s remarks to Congress urging a new assault weapons ban may not hit the real killer, handguns.
According to a study conducted by the FBI, 72 percent of homicides in 2011 were committed using a handgun. Only four percent were committed using rifles, including assault rifles.
Mallory Simon of CNN said, “no lawmaker is calling for a ban on the legal purchase of handguns. These common firearms, which account for the majority of gun-related violence in America but are also used for self-defense, are fully protected by the Second Amendment, according to a 2008 Supreme Court ruling.”
Obama also said he understands that most shootings and killings do not take place in the ways seen on television, but take place daily without many knowing.
“I welcome this opportunity to work with (law enforcement), to hear their views in terms of what will make the biggest difference to prevent something like Newtown or Oak Creek from happening again,” Obama said. “But many of them also recognize that it’s not only the high-profile mass shootings that are of concern here, it’s also what happens on a day-in-day-out basis in places like Chicago or Philadelphia, where young people are victims of gun violence every single day.”