Call for Ban on Assault Weapons After Tragic Shootings
Randy Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), urged for a prohibition on what are termed “weapons of assault” following the heartbreaking incident in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where two children lost their lives at a Catholic school.
Speaking on MSNBC’s “Chris Jansing Reports,” Weingarten, a noted advocate for strict school closures during the Covid pandemic, emphasized that a “national ban on assault weapons” is essential to prioritize human lives over firearms. She expressed concern that such tragic shootings should not become a part of the so-called “gun culture.”
“There are more guns on the street than there are people,” Weingarten stated. “The leading cause of death among children is this kind of violence. We need to address this, as I believe [Democratic Minnesota Senator] Amy Klobuchar does. We have to advocate for a nationwide ban on assault weapons. This fight also involves nurturing a culture that values human life more than gun culture. We know responsible gun owners stand with us, yet we cannot let this become normalized.”
The term “assault weapon” is commonly used by gun control proponents to refer to semi-automatic firearms that have features resembling fully automatic weapons. Semi-automatic models, like the AR-15 and AK-47, fire one bullet per trigger pull, unlike fully automatic firearms capable of firing multiple rounds at a time, as detailed in a Factsheet from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).
Former President Joe Biden mentioned that the 1994 Crime Bill instituted a ban on “assault weapons.” Although he argued that this ban reduced mass shootings, reviews of the period have shown “mixed” results about its effectiveness, as indicated by sources like FactCheck.org.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed that the shooter, identified as Robin Westman, who identified as transgender, owned three firearms and shot through a church window, resulting in the deaths of two children aged 8 and 10, along with 17 other injuries. Westman ultimately took his own life using one of the firearms.
It was noted that Westman had legally acquired all his guns just after the attack. He had also uploaded alarming videos to YouTube featuring firearms, cartridges, and cryptic messages, some of which included threats against former President Donald Trump.
Changing his name from Roger to Robin at 17 in 2019, Westman, under his mother’s guidance, later expressed in his manifesto a desire to revert his transgender identity, declaring that he regretted the decision and felt he had been “brainwashed.”
