Biden-Harris Administration Reiterates Push to Ban AR-15s

The Biden-Harris administration used social media on Wednesday to renew the push to ban AR-15s and similar rifles.

The White House posted to X:

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have consistently pushed a ban against America’s most popular rifle–the AR-15–throughout the tenure of their administration.

Moreover, Harris, as the Democrat presidential candidate, has continued to push the ban as part of her campaign. Her running mate, Democrat Tim Walz, also supports the gun control.

On August 8, 2024, Breitbart News reported that the ban was front and center during Harris and Walz’s first campaign event together.

At the event, Harris lauded Walz’s success in securing gun control as governor of Minnesota, adding, “And together, when we win in November, we are finally going to pass universal background checks, red flag laws, and an ‘assault weapons’ ban.”

The U.S.. had an “assault weapons” ban from 1994 to 2004, and the Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ) indicated the ban could not be credited with any reduction in crime.

The Washington Times quoted University of Pennsylvania professor Christopher Koper, author of the NIJ report, saying, “We cannot clearly credit the ban with any of the nation’s recent drop in gun violence. And, indeed, there has been no discernible reduction in the lethality and injuriousness of gun violence.”

The report continued, “The ban’s effects on gun violence are likely to be small at best and perhaps too small for reliable measurement.”

Yet Biden, Harris, and Walz are pushing to reinstate the ban under the guise of delivering safety.

On July 21, 2022, Breitbart News pointed to National Shooting Sports Foundation numbers showing there were more AR and AK-style rifles in circulation than Ford F-Series trucks on the road.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, a Pulsar Night Vision pro-staffer, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly: awrhawkins@breitbart.com.