@ISIDEWITHQuestionsSocial IssuesStarted 5yrs agoActive 3hrs ago

Should the federal government institute a mandatory buyback of assault weapons?

A gun buyback program is one where the government purchases guns from private citizens. The goal of these programs is to reduce the number of guns owned by private citizens. In most gun buyback programs the police are the agents buying the guns. In 2019 Presidential candidates Joe Biden, Beto O’Rourke, Kamala Harris and Julian Castro each proposed a mandatory gun buyback program where the federal government would purchase AK-47’s and AR-15’s from private citizens. In the past U.S. gun buyback programs have been implemented by state and city governments.

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Answer Overview

Response rates from 142k America voters.

40%
Yes
60%
No
30%
Yes
43%
No
7%
Yes, but start with a voluntary buyback and ban on purchasing assault weapons before enforcing a mandatory buyback
9%
No, increase mental health and background checks instead
3%
Yes, and we should also demilitarize local police departments
5%
No, this is a violation of the 2nd amendment
3%
No, it should be voluntary with strong financial incentives instead

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from America voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @8GNZSYY from Texas answered…4yrs4Y

Yes because it is not needed. There should be an option to use assault weapons “for fun” in gun ranges after a background check and mental health check

 @8M2QF3D from New Hampshire answered…4yrs4Y

like to see you try fed boy

 @8M7HMYP from Nebraska answered…4yrs4Y

A buyback would not be as effective as it was in other countries because of the large gun to person ratio here in the U.S.

 @8VD7KQTfrom Vermont answered…3yrs3Y

No, and there is no such thing as an "assault weapon"

 @9MWHFY9 from Maryland answered…4mos4MO

Yes, but start with a voluntary buyback and ban on purchasing semi-automatic rifles with large magazines before enforcing a mandatory buyback

 @94KMKB7 from California answered…2yrs2Y

No, and abolish the police.

 @8FP3LHC from Missouri answered…4yrs4Y

No, but increase mental health and background checks, as well as provide strong financial incentives for those who choose to give their weapons voluntarily. Criminals who choose to give up unlawfully possessed weapons should be granted pardons for the simple illegal possession of the weapon, so long as they haven't committed any violent crimes using said weapon (to incentivize criminals giving up illegal weapons).Weapons training courses and licenses should be mandatory for anyone to own/possess a weapon in public spaces, just as a drivers test is required for any public driver, with harsh penalties provided to those possessing weapons in public without a license or some sort of certification. Anyone on private property, however, should have the legal right to possess and use a firearm at their own discretion without any requirements.

 @8SH3HCL from Texas answered…3yrs3Y

Yes and increase mental health and background checks as well.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…5mos5MO

Biden to close ‘gun-show loophole’ and expand background checks for firearms

The Biden administration is moving to expand background checks for gun purchases, fulfilling a key demand of advocates following the deadly shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas.The final rule, expected to be submitted Thursday to the Federal Register by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, would eliminate a loophole that has allowed sales of guns without background checks of guns outside of brick-and-mortar stores.The rule was issued under a provision of the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. It requires that anyone who sells guns for profit to have a license and that buyers be subject to a background check, including at firearms shows and flea markets. The administration had been working on the rule since last spring. Once publicized, it will take effect in 30 days.The so-called gun show loophole has for years allowed unlicensed gun dealers to sell firearms without background checks at gun shows, on the internet and out of their homes. The new rule, the most sweeping expansion of firearms background checks in decades, will apply to more than 20,000 individuals engaged in unlicensed gun dealing and affect “tens and tens of thousands of gun sales” each year, an administration official told reporters during a call previewing the announcement.“This single gap in our federal background check system has caused unimaginable pain and suffering,” Vice President Kamala Harris said on the call.The vice president noted the 25th anniversary next week of the mass shooting at Columbine High School, which was carried out with weapons purchased through the gun-show loophole. She also pointed to the 2019 shooting in Midland and Odessa, Texas, where a man killed seven people and wounded dozens of others. A background check stopped the shooter from purchasing a gun at a sporting goods store in 2014, but he later purchased an AR-15 from an unlicensed seller he met online.“So many communities have been torn apart by acts of violence committed with weapons bought without background checks,” she continued. “So in the memory of all those we have lost today, as the head of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, I am proud to announce that all gun dealers now must conduct background checks no matter where or how they sell their merchandise.”An analysis published last week from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives found sales by unlicensed dealers were the most frequently used gun trafficking channel. From 2017 to 2021, the ATF traced more than 68,000 of these illegally tracked firearms to unlicensed dealers.“Today’s Final Rule is about ensuring compliance with an important area of the existing law where we all know, the data show, and we can clearly see that a whole group of folks are openly flouting that law. That leads to not just unfair but, in this case, dangerous consequences,” said ATF director Steven Dettelbach.The move is already facing backlash from Republicans. Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), the lead Republicans on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, plan to introduce a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to “overturn this unconstitutional rule,” a Cornyn spokesperson told POLITICO. To invalidate a federal regulation, both Houses must pass the resolution, which would then be sent to a president for a signature or veto. It would take two thirds majority of both Houses of Congress to override the president’s veto.

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