What was the effect of the ban on violent crime?
Violent crime started decreasing three years before the ban was imposed. Moreover, “assault weapons” are involved in only a tiny percentage of violent crimes—too small to noticeably effect the total violent crime rate. Furthermore, the law did not reduce the number of “assault weapons,” it caused the number to increase. There are more “assault weapons” and virtually identical guns than ever before. Along with the increase in guns, the nation’s violent crime rate has decreased every year since 1991. Obviously, the decrease had nothing to do with gun control, especially the “assault weapon” law. At the front of its annual crime reports, the FBI lists the factors that are known to affect crime rates. Gun laws do not appear in the FBI’s list. 11.
