When someone says let's ban "Assault Weapons" you know they are jumping the shark on so many levels and not serious about actually reducing crime or death by gun.
Recently some localities have passed laws banning "Assault Weapons" and reducing magazine size to 10 rounds...
Conduct a little research and it's clear the term Assault Weapon is a made up word. The inner workings of these type of weapons are the same as semiautomatic hunting rifles... Actually exactly the same to the extent of being interchangeable.
Furthermore, reducing magazine size to 10 rounds puts the defender at a disadvantage because planning and changing out mags is easy and fast but having extra mags on your person or for example in your purse is a hassle that few put up with. By the way criminals don't give a crap about laws so they are going to have the 40 round clip anyways.
One idea I could live with is adding 5 years to any "gun related crime" committed with a magazine greater than 10 rounds. Considering most crime is committed by known criminals this would probably save lives by keeping criminals in jail longer.
If handguns are by far the number one murder weapon why do so many well meaning politicians say they believe outlawing military "looking" semi-automatic rifles and high capacity magazines will reduce gun deaths? Futhermore, don't forget the most used gun in shootings are the cheap handguns that fit in your pocket.
How about makeing it harder to own hand guns? Maybe raise the age to 21 and require anyone who carries a handgun to get a carry permit. If you have a handgun on your person without a permit you're subject to arrest.
For the record I'm not a gun fan.
Although I was trained and carried a gun in the military I didn't own a handgun until 2007 and I've shot a lot of clay pigeons but never hunted.
The 2nd Amendment is NOT about home defense or hunting. It's about tyranny and keeping the government in check. Getting rid of the 2nd amendment would eventually end up being a very bad idea. Not right away mind you but when things go bad millions will die. It's happened in the past and it will happen again.
Fascism, communism, socialism, etc... These forms of government require revolution and then the real killing happens to consolidate power. Having an armed population provides a meaningful bulwark against these and other forms of tyrannical government.