The Assault Rifle Controversy

The gun control debate rages in America today, as it has since the early 20th century. After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, this debate increased in urgency and ferocity. In the years since that tragedy, the debate has often been a major domestic issue, one that refuses to quietly go away. Huge lobbying interests on both sides of the issue have recently been locked in political and ideological battle in the legislature, in the courts, and in the media. The focus of these arguments has ranged from the definition of the rights provided by the Second Amendment to the ownership of "Saturday Night Specials," but nothing in this debate has captured the imagination and the focus of national attention more than the recent "assault rifle" controversy