A group of attorneys general representing almost one-third of the country called out President Biden’s recent "irresponsible, radical, and unconstitutional statements" in favor of a federal ban on common semi-automatic firearms

The AGs, spearheaded by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and backed by colleagues in a further 15 states, penned a six-page public letter to the White House pointing out the bulwarks provided by the Constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms, both against "the petty tyranny of an armed criminal and the systematic tyranny of oppressive government."

In the letter, the AGs slam the President's remarks in his second State of the Union Speech before a joint session of Congress earlier this month. 

"Ban assault weapons once and for all," he said, before going on to reference his oft-touted role in the long-expired Federal Assault Weapons Ban signed by President Clinton while the 80-year-old current president was in Congress. "We did it before. I led the fight to ban them in 1994."

The AGs disputed Biden's subsequent claims that the ban resulted in a drop in gun crime, pointing to a pair of studies commissioned by the U.S. Department of Justice – during the Clinton and Bush Administrations – that found no discernible effect on violent crime attributable to that prohibition. 

"According to your own CDC, Americans use guns to protect themselves and their families up to 3 million times per year, if not more – far more often than guns are used in crimes, and far, far more often than guns injure people," the AGs wrote in the Feb. 15 letter. “The right to keep and bear arms in self-defense guards and protects the right to life, the first and most fundamental God-given right recognized in the Declaration of Independence. And, needless to say, your repeated attempts to deprive law-abiding Americans of guns that are in common and widespread use for self-defense are patently unconstitutional. We stand ready to oppose any attempt by your Administration to trample on this fundamental constitutional right."

Notably, Biden has addressed AWBs – and his desire to enact a broader one than the federal ban that expired in 2004 – no less than 160 times since taking office.

Meanwhile, firearm industry trade groups estimate that at least 24 million AR-15 and AK-47-style rifles are in circulation in the U.S. Going further, a future ban could affect most semi-auto handguns as well, at least in terms of magazine capacity limits. The National Shooting Sports Foundation estimates there are upwards of 100 million semi-auto pistols in circulation. 

"Thus, when Americans hear that you plan to come after our so-called 'assault weapons,' we brace ourselves for an attack on ordinary, safe, and highly effective weapons commonly used for self and home defense by over 100 million Americans," reads the letter. 

In addition to Montana, the letter was signed by the AGs of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Banner image: Springfield Armory Hellion bullpup 5.56 carbine. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

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